KUALA LUMPUR: Professional wrestler Ayez Shaukat-Fonseka Farid will go to the United States next year to mark a new chapter in his career.
The 37-year-old Malaysian has signed a five-year contract with a major entertainment company in the US as one of its talents.
In an interview today, he said: "I have been a professional wrestler for 10 years. In 2022 I penetrated the US market on The CW Network."
Ayez, who also appeared on NBC, added that a video of him on The CW Network went viral on social media recently, and netizens praised him for wearing a traditional Malay outfit while wrestling.
"I wore kain songket and tanjak (traditional Malay headgear). I chose to do it to promote my Malay heritage and put Malaysia on the map. I guess the Americans were attracted to my performance because of that."
He added that the entertainment company in the US proposed a five-year contract with a good sum of money.
"And I signed on as a talent with the company," said the father of two children aged 7 and 9.
Besides wrestling and acting, Ayez is an action director. His credits include local productions Sangkar and Gila Gusti.
He will appear in two new films later this year namely The Dark Eye and Empat, both of which he directed.
"Syafie Naswip, my co-star in Gila Gusti, is once again teaming up with me in Empat," said Ayez who served as the action director for the coming Projek: High Council movie.
Ayez said that his journey to become a professional wrestler was not easy.
"Although I get a lot of views on social media, sometimes close to 2 million, I get a lot of haters too.
"At first I was frustrated, I didn't understand why some people were angry with what I did," said Ayez.
He said that it was "not impossible" to enter Hollywood.
Ayez has no plans to move to the US permanently as he is a "true blue Malaysian".
"Working in the United States is something I need to do as part of my legacy. I want my children to see me on the global stage."