Albar debuted on the small screen in a modern retelling of the folklore Malin Kundang opposite veteran actress Desy Ratnasari.

Albar then had his feature film debut in November 2005 with the release of Alexandria as one of the main characters opposite Marcel Chandrawinata, Julie Estelle, and Kinaryosih.

[2] His next projects came in 2007 in the role of drag performer Amanda in Jakarta Undercover and as Janus in Dead Time: Kala.

His performance in the latter earned him his first Citra Award nomination in the Best Actor category, losing to Deddy Mizwar (Nagabonar Jadi 2) as well as an MTV Indonesia Movie Awards in the Most Favorite Actor category, this time losing to Mizwar's co-star in Nagabonar Jadi 2, Tora Sudiro.

[3] He then appeared opposite Marsha Timothy in Anwar's follow-up release The Forbidden Door as Gambir, an artist who one day meets a young boy and starts to uncover secrets.