Mile 22: Mark Wahlberg and Iko Uwais teach each other their respective language

Director Peter Berg's actioner 'Mile 22' stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead playing the role of James Silva. The film also marks the American film debut of Indonesian action star and martial arts master Iko Uwais, best known for his starring roles in the acclaimed action film series The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2.

Mark Wahlberg had an absolute blast working with the Indonesian action star. He said “He is spectacular and a sweetheart of a guy. Iko is very funny, very sweet but a badass too. We had a lot of laughs and I loved hanging out with his crew.

He was teaching me Indonesian and I was teaching him a lot of English slang.”
Mark was impressed with Iko’s ability to learn the language and feel comfortable in an environment that was infused with a lot of improvisation. He added “I like to throw some curveballs and obviously we're improvising within the context of the scene, and he just did an outstanding job.”

On his debut, Uwais said “This is really the beginning for me. It’s a perfect collaboration between martial arts and Hollywood action.” He hopes that it shines a light on the Indonesian style of fighting he employs, interspersed within a big Hollywood film.

The film is slated to release on August 24.