TRUE BELIEVER. Delano Daniel shares his journey as an actor, his dream projects, and the beliefs he stood by to reach it with Ricky Ronaldo

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Delano Daniel Rijke is all about positive vibes. This might not come as a surprise to many of his fans, as he constantly uses the hashtag #blessed when posting on Instagram and has “Positive vibes only” as the header of his Twitter account. That vibe was also quite palpable during this photoshoot, where he threw in uplifting quotes every now and then, and high-fived everyone on set after it was done. It’s definitely surprising (and a little bit scary) to see a man who radiates such positive energy—especially in today’s cynical world.

But of course, Daniel is much more than a positive man. He is also a model, athlete, actor and TV host. You might have seen him gracing the television screen of Indonesian soap operas, otherwise known as sinetron, playing Vito in the series “Jakarta Love Story”, Razil in “Cinta di Langit Taj Mahal 2” (Love in the Sky of the Taj Mahal 2), or Radit in the second season of “Cinta dan Rahasia” (Love and Secrets). He also appeared in season three of “Kelas International” (International Class) and starred in the Indonesian drama film “Dear Love” as Mike. Most recently, though, he’s the co-host of adventure documentary series “My Trip, My Adventure.”

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As a matter of fact, during the day of the photoshoot, Daniel was just a week back from his trip to Papua, and a week away from heading to Karimun Jawa, where he will be shooting his next “My Trip, My Adventure” episodes. “I am blessed to get this opportunity to participate in the show,” the 28-year-old actor says of his involvement in the show, “to see and learn about all those different kinds of culture of Indonesia.” Then he adds: “That is amazing because Indonesians are a very friendly people—very open. I am very thankful for this. That they open up their doors to show their culture to us.”

“Whatever we want in life, we can achieve it … as long as we believe and we’re willing to work for it”

While talking about his recent trip to Papua, he reflects on how friendly the Papuan people are, and how they are so tough and strong. He recounts a particularly memorable moment when he was greeted at a village where the locals waited for them in boats, approaching them as if they were conducting an attack. “So, they came to us with their weapons out, while singing and dancing on the boat, still wearing the traditional clothes and with the white stripes on their faces like they were ready for war,” Daniel says. “It was amazing.” He also admires the Papuan people for their ability to make everything out of what nature provides, like constructing a rope using leaves or tools from tree branches. “Sometimes we forget how good we actually have it here in Jakarta, or in the city,” he observes. “Like with water. There, they depend on the rain. If it doesn’t rain, they don’t have water for bathing.”

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As Daniel was born in Arnhem, the Netherlands, Indonesian is, of course, not his native tongue. So, he point out that, naturally, speaking in Indonesian is the biggest challenge he faces as a TV host. “Maybe, if we talk face-to-face, like this, I’m talking in bahasa from the heart,” Delano offers. “But when I get a script it’s still coming from the mind. So that’s my everyday challenge.”

The language barrier, however, wasn’t too much of a problem when he started his career in Indonesia—as a model. It all started when he was holidaying in Indonesia and people started asking whether he was a model or an actor. While mildly annoyed at first, he later thought: “Yeah, why not? Let’s give it a try.” It certainly helped that he had done some modeling work in the Netherlands. Right now, though, he devotes most of his time to acting.

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That being said, Daniel points out that his modeling background has helped him with his acting, particularly the way he’s learned to be conscious of the way he stands in front of the camera. Other than that, sport has also been a boon to his acting career. “It’s good for your body and—most importantly—it’s good for your health and mental mind,” he says. He also mentions about how sports allowed him to feel confident about himself when he is in front of the camera. “You feel stable and confident, and that helps me in my everyday job.”

This passion for sports is particularly visible on Daniel’s social media accounts. As a matter of fact, if he wasn’t acting, he notes that he would probably be a sportsman. He does, among others, Muay Thai, Mixed Martial Arts (he mentions that his best move is his right hook) along with his favorite: football. At one point, he was a semi-professional footballer until other interests, such as acting, became his top priority.

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Since becoming a professional actor, Daniel has achieved quite a few important milestones. But the highlight of his career, as the man points out, was when he played a supporting character in the 2014 action movie “Guardian” alongside Dominique Diyose, Nino Fernandez and Ganindra Bimo. “That was the first time I saw myself on the big screen. It was like confirmation that I can do it,” he starts. “Whatever we want in life, we can achieve it … as long as we believe and we’re willing to work for it. For me, if you can feel and visualize it, you get it. That day—that was my confirmation.”

He also believes this to be the philosophy that led him to his “My Trip, My Adventure” gig. “I believe in the laws of attraction,” Daniel says with utter conviction. “So, whatever we think, we get.”

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Naturally, “whatever we think, we become” is Daniel’s favorite motto. He also doesn’t believe in coincidences, trusting instead that belief conquers everything. “For me, it’s as simple as that,” he elaborates. “As long as you work hard, and you believe, and you’re being good. Whatever it is you want to become, a football player or a model, you can, as long as you believe.”

On that note, he also cites the bestselling book “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne as one of his favorite reads, as it reinforces the maxim that wanting something leads to the universe providing it. While this is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, it seems to be pretty fitting for Daniel. Even as our conversation turned to more mundane things like Jakarta’s traffic—which everybody can agree is complete hell—he reflects: “Everywhere you there will be plusses and minuses. You need to see everything in a positive way, and if you see the positive, positive things will come to you.”

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As it turns out, this positivity in Daniel is also thanks to his parents, who always taught him to be happy in life with whatever he wants and that he can achieve whatever he want. “I’m a family guy,” he states matter-of-factly. “It sounds so cliché, but my dad and my mom are my role models in life.”

With all the talk about positive vibes and what people want from life, it seemed really appropriate to end this story with Daniel’s dream—or at least his dream project as an actor. And to that, he replies that it would be to star in an action movie or to get a leading role in a soap opera. When asked for details for his closest upcoming project, he replies: “Hopefully a sinetron, but I cannot talk too much about it, but there are big things coming up, for sure.”

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Out Takes:

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Photography Grego Gery
Styling Peter Zewet
Styling Assistant Primawan Hakim
Grooming & Hair Atika Sakura
Videography Sadam Dwi Satria
Location Senayan City

Delano Daniel’s Beliefs that Have Lead to Success

atika sakura,

delano daniel,

grego gery,

Gucci,

Hermès,

Kenzo,

Lanvin,

Peter Zewet,

Prada,

Primawan Hakim,

Sadam Dwi Satria,

Senayan City