Joe Taslim

Summary

Johannes Taslim (born 23 June 1981), known professionally as Joe Taslim, is an Indonesian actor and martial artist. He was a member of Indonesia’s national judo team from 1997 to 2009, becoming a three-time medalist (one Silver and two Bronze) at the Southeast Asian Games, and a Gold medalist at the 2008 Pekan Olahraga Nasional.

Joe Taslim
Taslim during 2015 Indonesian Film Festival
Born
Johannes Taslim

(1981-06-23) 23 June 1981 (age 42)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • martial artist
Years active1997–present
Spouse
Julia Taslim
(m. 2004)
Children3
Signature

His film acting roles include Sergeant Jaka in The Raid (2011), Jah in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), Manas in Star Trek Beyond (2016), and Sub-Zero in Mortal Kombat (2021). He has a starring role as Li Yong on the television series Warrior.

Early life edit

Taslim was born in Palembang, Indonesia, to a Christian family of Chinese descent.[1] He began studying martial arts from a young age, and cites Japanese judoka Kosei Inoue and Tadahiro Nomura as inspirations.[2] He has also practiced taekwondo, pencak silat and wushu.[3]

Judo edit

Taslim was a member of Indonesia’s national judo team from 1997 to 2009. In 1999, he won a Gold medal at the Southeast Asia Judo Championships in Singapore, in the Men’s Free Class. He was a Bronze medalist at the 2001 and 2005 Southeast Asian Games, and a Silver medalist at the 2007 Games. He won a Gold medal in the Men –81 kg class at the 2008 Indonesia National Games. He retired from active competition in 2009.[1]

Film career edit

Prior to his film debut, Taslim worked as a model in print ads and commercials. He made his acting debut in the 2008 film Karma.

In 2010, he won the role of Jaka, a sergeant in a special police squad, in the award-winning The Raid, after a series of fight auditions and reading.

Following The Raid, Taslim took part in HBO Asia's first action horror film, Dead Mine, which had a theatrical release in selected Asian territories in September 2012, followed by exclusive television premieres across the HBO Asia network.[4][5][6][7]

Taslim appeared in the feature film Fast & Furious 6 (2013), as the villainous Jah, a mercenary who uses his martial arts to fight two of the film's protagonists, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) and Han Seoul-Oh (Sung Kang).[8]

In May 2013, it was reported that Taslim would star in the action thriller The Night Comes for Us.[9] In September 2014, pre-production on the film was halted[10] and the script was instead adapted as a graphic novel. The film was eventually released by Netflix on 19 October 2018.[11]

In 2016, he played an antagonist character, Manas, a former first officer of Captain Balthazar Edison (played by Idris Elba), Anderson Le, turned into an alien in Star Trek Beyond.

In 2017, Taslim was cast in the role of Li Yong in the Cinemax action series, Warrior.[12] He played Li Yong, a Long Zii enforcer and secretly Mai Ling's lover. His character serves as a rival to the series' protagonist Ah Sahm.[12] The series premiered on 5 April 2019.[13]

In July 2019, Taslim was cast as Sub-Zero in the Mortal Kombat reboot.[14] The film premiered in April 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max.

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
2008 Karma Armand Guan
2009 Rasa
Allivan
2011 The Raid Sergeant Jaka
2012 Dead Mine Joko
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Jah
La Tahzan
Yves Yamada
2016 Star Trek Beyond Anderson Le / Manas
2017 Surat Kecil untuk Tuhan
Martin
2018 The Night Comes for Us Ito
2019 Hit & Run Tegar Satria / Tegar Saputra [1]
2020 The Swordsman Gurutai
2021 Mortal Kombat Bi-Han / Sub-Zero
TBA The Blind of the Phantom Cave: Angel's Eyes
Mandala Cameo
Mandala: The Devil's Sword
Mortal Kombat 2 Bi-Han / Sub-Zero Post-production

Television edit

Year Title Role Network Notes
2019–2023 Warrior Li Yong Cinemax
2023 Blindspotting Mustafa Starz Guest stars

Sport achievements edit

Year Event Sport Division Result Ref(s).
1999 Southeast Asia Judo Championships Singapore Judo Men Free Class   [15][16]
2001 Southeast Asian Games Judo Men –81 kg  
2005 Southeast Asian Games Judo Men –73 kg  
2007 Southeast Asian Games Judo Men –81 kg   [15][16]
2008 Indonesia National Games XVII Judo Men –81 kg   [15][16]

Awards and nominations edit

Year Organization Award Nominated work Result Ref.
2013 Maya Awards Best Actor in a Leading Role La Tahzan Nominated
Indonesian Film Festival Citra Award for Best Leading Actor Nominated
2014 Indonesian Movie Actors Awards Best Actor Won
Favourite Actor Nominated
2015 Indonesia Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Actor Himself Won
2016 APAN Star Awards Best APAN Star Award Won
2016 Infotainment Awards Indonesian Celebrity of World Achievement Nominated
2017 Style Awards Actor of the Year Won

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Yamato, Jen (8 May 2021). "'Mortal Kombat's' Joe Taslim reveals hidden talents and his dream director wish list". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  2. ^ [INTERVIEW] Joe Taslim speaks what judo meant to him., retrieved 16 August 2023
  3. ^ Asia, Tatler. "Joe Taslim". Tatler Asia. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  4. ^ "HBO Asia's 'Dead Mine' sports international cast and crew". The Sun Daily. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  5. ^ Siregar, Lisa (27 December 2011). "HBO Asia Film is 'Dead' on Target". Jakarta Globe. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  6. ^ Si Wan, Leow (6 January 2012). "Dead Mine: Action-horror film is HBO Asia's first original production". Yahoo. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. ^ Ngantung, Daniel (3 August 2012). "Film Dead Mine Dirilis Pertengahan September" ['Dead Mine' to be released in mid-September]. Tribun News (in Indonesian). Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  8. ^ Sneider, Jeff (7 July 2012). "'Raid' actor joins 'Fast and Furious 6'". Variety. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Gareth Evans and XYZ Films Team Up for Bloody Thriller The Night Comes For Us". Dread Central. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  10. ^ Primera, Dita (26 October 2016). "Iko Uwais dan Joe Taslim Siap Main Bareng di 'The Night Comes From Us'" [Iko Uwais and Joe Taslim are ready to play in 'The Night Comes From Us']. Solopos FM (in Indonesian). Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  11. ^ Donato, Matt (25 September 2018). "'The Night Comes for Us' Review: A Bloody, Action-Packed, Punch-a-Minute Thriller [Fantastic Fest]". Slash Film. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  12. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (11 October 2017). "'Warrior': Cinemax Sets Cast & Director For Bruce Lee-Inspired Martial Arts Series". Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  13. ^ Li, Shirley (8 February 2019). "Justin Lin talks bringing Bruce Lee's passion project to life in Warrior first look photos". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  14. ^ Galuppo, Mia (9 July 2019). "'Mortal Kombat' Movie Finds Its Sub-Zero (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  15. ^ a b c M. Berlian (15 January 2012). "Exclusive Feature: Joe Taslim of "The Raid"". DA MAN. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  16. ^ a b c Manila, Sinta (10 January 2017). "Ini Lho Foto Joe Taslim Jaman Berondong Saat Pernah Harumkan Nama Bangsa" [This is a photo of Joe Taslim youth when glorified the name of the nation]. Tribun News (in Indonesian). Retrieved 14 January 2018.

External links edit