Daniel Mananta

Biography

Daniel Mananta (born in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 14 August 1981) is an Indonesian actor, presenter, VJ, and podcaster of Chinese Indonesian descent. He is an Indonesian entertainer whose name emerged after winning the 2003 MTV Indonesia VJ Hunt; thus, he was popularly known as VJ Daniel Mananta. He has now established himself as an entertainer as well as a young entrepreneur.

== Early life == Daniel Mananta led an amiable childhood in Jakarta, Indonesia. He attended Tarakanita IV in Pluit, North Jakarta, from kindergarten to the end of junior high school. Daniel Mananta moved to Perth, Australia, to complete his high school education at Aquinas College. His childhood is rarely a topic of discussion, as he felt he was socially awkward until after high school. Daniel Mananta has one brother, William Mananta.

=== Life in Perth, Australia === During his school years in Perth, Daniel Mananta took up part-time employment at Nando's, first as a waiter and eventually attained a higher position equivalent to assistant manager. However, as high school final exams approached, he left the part-time job to focus on his education. Following graduation from Aquinas College, Daniel Mananta pursued a double degree: Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Finance and International Business at Edith Cowan University. He graduated in 2002 at the age of 20. While looking for an opportunity in Perth as a fresh graduate for 6 months, Daniel Mananta was involved in Network 21, a multi-level marketing system selling Amway products. As he was doing business presentations on almost a daily basis, Daniel Mananta began to enjoy public speaking. He also interned at Citibank Australia for 3 weeks.

== Career ==

=== Early career === Missing his homeland, Daniel Mananta returned to Jakarta at the end of 2002. He worked with his father, who owned a store in Mangga Dua, Jakarta. Mangga Dua itself is a gargantuan shopping hub in the capital city. Unfortunately, the work was not something Daniel Mananta enjoyed, and then he left in early 2003. At around the same time, MTV Indonesia launched the MTV VJ Hunt 2003 event. Daniel Mananta tried his luck and entered the contest, proceeded to become a finalist from 6000 contestants and ultimately emerged as the winner of the VJ Hunt. Soon, Daniel Mananta became a familiar face. In 2004, he hosted the Red Carpet MTV Asia Awards. During his time as an MTV VJ, he has interviewed some of the biggest names in international music - Korn, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne, The Black Eyed Peas, Gareth Gates, Michelle Branch and Nicole Scherzinger, to name but a few. Daniel Mananta also became ambassador for several products, including Sony Ericsson and Adidas Indonesia.

=== Acting and singing === In 2007, Daniel Mananta landed the lead role in I Love you Boss, an FTV produced by MNC pictures. He also starred in a soap opera produced by Sinemart, titled Antara Cinta dan Dusta (Between Love and Lies). Daniel Mananta scored an opportunity to grace the big screen as Jimmie in the thriller Rumah Dara (Macabre) in 2009 alongside Shareefa Danish, Julie Estelle, Arifin Putra, Sigi Wimala and others. Macabre, which was directed by The Mo Brothers, was also released in international film markets. In 2011, Daniel Mananta recorded a song with the band Potenzio, titled Twitter Dunia (World Twitter). In the song, Daniel Mananta raps. He admitted to being a little less confident about singing but enjoys rapping, as it is similar to presenting but with faster articulation of words.

=== Presenter === Daniel Mananta hosted the third season of Indonesian Idol in 2006. The first time he hosted the popular competition, he appeared alongside Ata. His work as an MTV VJ continued as per usual. Daniel and Ata returned as the hosts of Indonesian Idol the following year. In 2008, Daniel Mananta was paired with Dewi Sandra, an Indonesian singer, to host the fifth season of Indonesian Idol. In the sixth and seventh seasons of Indonesian Idol (2010 and 2012 respectively), Daniel was entrusted to lead the show independently. The seasoned presenter also hosted Asian Idol in 2007, which was screened in six countries; India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. He also hosted the show Anugerah Planet Muzik 2011, shown in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In 2016, he hosted the second season of The Voice Indonesia.

== DaMN ==