Arifin Putra

Putra Arifin Scheunemann was born on 1 May 1987, in Mainz, West Germany. His German father, Axel Scheunemann, was a gardener turned landscape specialist, while his Indonesian mother, Joyce Sunandar, ran a catering business. He has an older sister, Sari, who works at an automotive company in Stuttgart. His parents divorced in 1999, upon which he and his mother permanently resettled to Indonesia. He reportedly still remains estranged from his father.

Arifin received his early education at the German International School in Jakarta, where he partook in several school plays and showed early interest in acting, often doing reenactments of films for his family. He graduated from the school in 2006 and initially did not intend to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. His parents’ divorce took a toll on him and turned him into a shy and reclusive child, though he eventually regained his cheerful personality with the help and support of his sister. As of 2020, Arifin is pursuing undergraduate studies in business management. In 2000, Arifin tagged along with his sister to a television commercial shoot and was offered to be an extra, which he accepted on this occasion. At the end of the shoot, Arifin found himself motivated by the fact that he could earn a bit of extra pocket money while having fun. In the same year, he was a finalist in a cover boy competition hosted by a popular Indonesian teen magazine. Arifin was also in the running for MTV Indonesia’s VJ Hunt in 2003. Despite being unsuccessful in that particular competition, one thing led to another for Arifin, and so began his acting career.