The 18-year-old plays the lead role in Dain Said’s film 'Harum Malam', alongside actors Bront Palarae, Remy Ishak and Nadiya Nisaa. Photos: Handout
Right after starring in the Netflix horror series Mr Midnight: Beware The Monster – which is based on the popular Singaporean book series – Malaysian actor Idan Aedan has secured another role in the horror genre.
The 18-year-old plays the lead role in Dain Said’s film Harum Malam, alongside actors Bront Palarae, Remy Ishak and Nadiya Nisaa.
In it, he plays a teenager with the ability to see dead people, something he inherited from his mum.
Thanks to his sixth sense, the youngster who already feels like an outcast among his peers, finds it even more difficult to fit in with them.
Things take a darker turn when his father starts working at a greenhouse that is home to more than just plants.
In a conversation with StarLifestyle, Idan admits that he is a fan of the horror genre.
Some of his all-time favourite horror movies, he says, are The Conjuring (2013), Pengabdi Setan (2017) and Pusaka (2019).
“I’ve always been a big fan of horror films. So, to be working in one is so much fun,” he shares.
Interesting as well is his answer when asked what his reaction would be if he had the ability to see ghosts.
“I would probably start a conversation with the ghost,” Idan says with a laugh, adding that he would be more curious than scared.
“I’d start asking questions to find out more (about the dimension beyond ours) because to me, getting to talk to a ghost would be a chance of a lifetime.”
It is that curiosity and abundance of imagination that got Idan – whose full name is Muhammad Shahidan Abdullah – into acting.
“I never thought about becoming an actor when I was young,” he says.
However, after his mum asked him to participate in the competition show Over The Top on TV3 when he was 10 – “I won first place” – he started to star in more local dramas and films.
One of the first gigs he did after winning the competition was to appear in a talk show which featured a segment where kids act like adults.
“I was given a script and I was told to play a mayor. I remember wearing a blazer for the role and, somehow, I did it,” recalls Idan.
“The production people told me I should try out acting. My mum also encouraged me. So I did, and from then on, I started to love acting and being on set.”
Some of the projects Idan has participated in include TV series Oh My English (2017), Jibril (2018) and Disney Wizards Of Warna Walk (2019), as well as films Pulang (2015), Zombietopia (2016) and last year’s Anak Rimau.
At the moment, too, he says he is getting ready to star in another local film – though he doesn't want to share any details about this upcoming project.
Not to mention, there have been reports that he’s being scouted for acting gigs overseas, namely Indonesia and Australia.
“I can’t say anything about that right now because nothing has been confirmed. But, if it happens, I hope it will be another great journey for me.”
Idan Aedan loves being on set of a horror movie.
Regardless where his jobs take him, Idan is quick to point out that with any project – be it a TV series or a film – teamwork is crucial and there are many people on set who work hard to deliver a good product.
“Harum Malam is my first horror film, and I am lucky that I got to work under esteemed director Dain Said,” says Idan, describing the filmmaker as someone who is full of ideas.
“It’s interesting to see how he works, and getting all the different perspectives (he’s mapped out in his mind).”
The Perak-born teenager continues: “It was also amazing to work with actor Bront Palarae, with whom I share 75% to 80% of my scenes with.
“He’s not at all what I expected. He’s played a few antagonists in films, like these intense characters, so I didn’t know that he’s such a friendly person.
“To be working with him, it’s nerve-wracking but also fun because he involves me in all the scenes, like he would ask me what I think before shooting a scene and how I’m going to play the character in that scene.”
Besides learning the trade by working with actors like Bront and Remy and director Dain, Idan hopes to further his studies in filmmaking one day.
But for now, he has set his sights on landing a variety of roles as he possibly can, as well as different genres.
“In the future, I would love to try the action genre and the romance genre. Maybe the romance genre can wait until I get a lot older.
“But you know what I would love to play one day? A detective or an inspector character who goes around finding out things and catching the perp somehow,” he says, with a chuckle.
Harum Malam is now showing at cinemas nationwide.
