Kristo Immanuel

Kristo Immanuel Caesar was born on 28 February 1997 in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2019, a video of him impersonating 120 animated characters went viral on Instagram. He told Kompas that he started learning how to do impressions since he was in primary school.^[1] He graduated from Multimedia Nusantara University in 2020, majoring in Film Studies.^[2]

In 2019, Immanuel began his acting career by voicing Indonesia's second president Soeharto in the biopic Susi Susanti: Love All.^[3] In 2021, he served as an assistant director on Ernest Prakasa's Teka Teki Tika and also played a small role in the film.^[4] He landed his first major acting role in Timo Tjahjanto's action comedy film The Big 4, for which won the Maya Award for Best Breakthrough Actor at the 2022 ceremony.^[5][6] In 2023, he starred in Yosep Anggi Noen's crime drama 24 Hours with Gaspar and Fajar Nugros' psychological thriller Sleep Call.^[7][8] In 2024, he co-wrote a jukebox musical featuring the music of Tulus, Interaksi, along with Nuya Susanto and Pradipta Kartika.^[9]

In 2025, Immanuel made his directorial debut with the cringe comedy film Better Off Dead, starring Omara Esteghlal in the leading role.^[10] Immanuel and co-writer Jessica Tjiu received a nomination for the Citra Award for Best Original Screenplay for their work.^[11]

In February 2022, Immanuel married Jessica Tjiu in a ceremony in Central Jakarta.^[12] The couple co-wrote the screenplay for his film Better Off Dead.^[13]

In an interview with Tempo, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.^[14] He described his film Better Off Dead as a "love letter for people with neurodiversity".^[15] He explained that the "breaking the fourth wall" concept used in the film represented self-talk, which is commonly seen in neurodivergent individuals.^[16]