The son of a noble priyayi family, he had access to a high level of education, completing his MULO studies before learning bookkeeping.

In the ensuing Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949), Soekarno was active with Fred Young's Bintang Soerabaja professional theatre troupe.

[5] As the 1950s progressed, Soekarno worked for a number of companies, including Djamaluddin Malik's Persari (Rodrigo de Villa, 1952) and PFN (Penjelundup, 1952).

He gained the greatest popular recognition for his role in the latter film, a comedy about the conflicts between different families occupying the same house, and appeared in its sequel Lagi-Lagi Krisis two years later.

On 12 March 1956, Rendra Karno went to Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, together with nine other actors and actresses to read a list of demands to President Sukarno.

[8] Rendra Karno remained active with Perfini into the 1960s, appearing in such productions as Tiga Dara (1956), Tjambuk Api (1958), Pedjuang (1960), and Bajangan di Waktu Fadjar (1962).

Over the next decade, he appeared in a further eight films, including Putri Solo (1974) and Para Perintis Kemerdekaan (1977); Karno also worked as a crew member for several productions.