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Edric Tjandra rarely plays it straight. The 25-year-old Chinese-Indonesian went against family tradition to take a shot at show business, and has now established himself as a comedian and actor, often playing a banci, or transvestite.

Edric was expected to follow tradition and start up his own business after graduating from school.

“Like opening a shop [such as a clothing store or restaurant], for example,” Edric said.

But although he graduated from an interior design school, Edric chose a different career path, starting work as an MC for parties and celebrations in 2004.

“It was simply because I couldn’t stand sitting in front of the computer for a long time. My eyes became watery,” he said. “I did an internship at an interior design company, but I couldn’t stand it. I always waited for office hours to end.”

Then, three years ago, encouraged by his friends, Edric auditioned for the well-known comedy variety show “Extravaganza,” which first aired in 2004 on Trans TV.

Edric said that during the audition he was confused and didn’t initially know how to be funny while being judged at the same time.

“I really didn’t know what to say,” Edric said. “I was just an MC, not a stand-up comedian.”

Then he remembered that the established cast of “Extravaganza” all had their own unique characters, but that there wasn’t an ethnic Chinese character.

“So I began to sell the Chinese part of me,” he said. “I sang [a song by Chinese pop singer] Teresa Teng in a funny way. My mother really loved that song and I had listened to it many times. I mixed it with a song by Agnes Monica [a young Chinese-Indonesian singer] along with her signature dance style.”

The judges loved it and Edric was accepted as a new cast member on the TV show.

He said he had played a number of different characters on “Extravaganza,” but the one that he did most often was that of a transvestite.

“People loved it, so they wanted me to be a transvestite again and again,” he said.

Eventually he developed his own regular character for the show.

“I was given the name Cici [sister] Edricawati,” he said. “The character I played reminded people of Mama Hengky.”

Mama Hengky was a popular character in the 1970s and early ’80s played by a male Chinese-Indonesian comedian impersonating a middle-aged Chinese woman.

“I love Mama Hengky too, but I didn’t try to copy her. I’m just being myself as a comedian,” Edric said.

He said that he felt lucky that his parents supported him, although he initially felt he had to explain to them that playing transvestites would be part of his job.

While his parents didn’t mind how he acted on stage, they insisted he maintain old-fashioned values in his personal life.

“They said it was fine as long as I’m straight,” the youngest of two children said.

However, his acting is so convincing that people often assume he is gay.

“I’m not,” he said. “But it’s really not important what people say. Only God and I know. If they think that I’m a real transvestite because I have to [act as though I] like men when I play the character, that just means I act well.

“I want the people who have paid for the show to be happy with my work.”

Edric added that in this role it was easy to amuse his audience. “Indonesians like being entertained and they like transvestites because every little thing they do is seen as funny.”

Although he said he was initially uncomfortable wearing women’s clothes and stockings, he felt like he had no choice because this was how he had chosen to earn a living.

Edric said that these days, now that he is well-known as a comedian from his roles on TV and in films, including last year’s “Kambing Jantan” (“Male Goat”) and “Janda Kembang” (a slang term for a desirable widow), people find him funny regardless of which character he plays.

“At the point where people know you as a comedian, people will laugh, whether you play the role as a man or a woman. Whatever you say or do is funny for them,” he said.

He added that his Chinese heritage was a bonus for his career.

“Joking about anything that relates to religion or ethnicity is a rather risky thing to do in Indonesia as those are quite sensitive subjects,” he said.

“But because I’m Chinese myself, I often joke about the shape of the eyes or the typical face of Chinese people and it seems alright.”

Edric said that it was largely thanks to Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, the late former president, that Chinese-Indonesians had a place in Indonesia and that Chinese New Year was celebrated as a national holiday.

Edric said this recognition has helped Chinese culture to become more well-known and accepted in the country.

“I’m proud of being Chinese, although I would rather say ‘I am Indonesian’ than ‘I am Chinese,’ ” he said.