8 Things You Need To Know About Joe Taslim, The Indonesian Action Star Of The Swordsman

Joe Taslim first came on the radar of moviegoers in The Raid, the 2011 Indonesian bone-cracking, blood-letting action thriller where he and Iko Uwais played cops tasked with capturing a drug lord hunkered down in a decrepit apartment building. Since then, the erstwhile member of the Indonesian national Judo team (1997-2009) has also appeared in such Hollywood flicks as Fast & Furious 6, Star Trek Beyond, and the upcoming Mortal Kombat. He’s also in Warrior, the Cinemax series based on Bruce Lee’s writings, about the gangland disputes in 19th century San Francisco Chinatown. Taslim’s latest is the Korean period actioner The Swordsman. Jang Hyunk plays a blind pugilist embroiled in a skirmish involving slave traders from China. Taslim co-stars as Gurutai, the leader of the bad guys giving hell to the locals. Speaking to 8days.sg via Zoom — first in a press conference and then a one-to-one chat — Taslim, 39, shares with us his experiences of making his Korean movie debut.

1. On sword fighting in The Swordsman...

Not only is Swordsman is Taslim’s first Korean movie, but it’s also the first time he uses a sword onscreen. “I am very thankful that I made this movie because I got to train with the best swordsmen in Korea, the masters of Kumdo [Korean martial arts]. So in the future, if I have a role that requires me to use a sword, it’s not going to be something new for me.” Did he get to keep the sword after production wrapped? “They didn’t give me the sword,” he says, with a guffaw. “I wish I had asked [for it].”

2. On playing the bad guy …

Taslim struggled to play a menacing meanie in The Swordsman because, in real life, he’s more of a comedian. “In Indonesia, my fans know me as an action guy but they also know me as this funny guy because I did a lot of ridiculous commercials. I’m blessed and happy that people get to see two sides of me.” Even when he plays a baddie, “I don’t want to play a bad guy who has no character arc, a bad guy who is bad for bad’s sake.” He would love to play an anti-hero like the one — as a hitman with a heart of gold — in the 2018 Netflix thriller The Night Comes For Us. “He’s probably the best character for an actor to play,” he says. “You get to see his good and bad sides.”

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon has a few really good sword action scenes,” says Taslim. That’s a golden oldie but for a more recent movie, his recommends Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins, the adapted-from-manga period actioner starring Takeru Satoh. Taslim admires its “fast-paced, impactful” blade choreography: “It’s like The Raid, but with swords.”

4. On his tea of choice…

Like his alter-ego in Swordsman, Taslim is an avid tea drinker. “I drink tea probably every day, in the morning and the afternoon.. “My favourite tea is hibiscus,” he says. “I’ve been drinking hibiscus for two to three years now. It’s really good. I felt like this tea helps to purify my body.”

5. On John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum…

What does he think of the recent hitman thriller? “It’s a great action movie,” Taslim said of the threequel which also features his compatriots Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman. Generally, Hollywood action flicks rely heavily on stunt doubles and post-production trickery, says Taslim, who has appeared in Fast & Furious 6 and Star Trek Beyond. But on Parabellum, he thought the editing was “well executed”. “It is badass because you don’t see any breaks in the fights.” Does Taslim like to be in a John Wick movie? “Well, who knows? You never know,” he says, with a playful ‘I-know-something-you-don’t’ laugh. “I’ll fight John Wick! The saga is still continuing,” he says. “They need to bring in great action actors if they want to take [the franchise] to the next level. It’s just a matter of time before they call Iko [Uwais], me or our action friends.”

6. On his breakout The Raid…

“To be honest, we did not think this movie would achieve what it achieved,” Taslim recalls. It wasn’t until halfway through the shoot that the cast heard that the movie found a global distributor after a few clips were shown to potential buyers at the Cannes Film Festival. “That’s probably the moment that forced us to go, ‘Really? We need to work harder.’ We didn’t see it coming. It just boosted our mood and energy. The movie opened the door for all of us. For me, Iko and Yayan, The Raid is very special.”

7. On his friendship with Iko Uwais…

“After The Raid, we became great friends; he’s like a little brother to me,” says Taslim. “We’re still in touch and we’re always looking for projects to work together.” They last collaborated on The Night Comes Us For. “The director asked Iko, ‘You want to do something different? Want to play a bad guy for a change?’ Iko goes, ‘If Joe were to do it, I want to be part of it.’ That’s how special our relationship is. I want to work with him again before I get too old.”

8. On his next project….

The live-action version of Mortal Kombat where he plays Sub-Zero. “I think it’s going to be the most badass Mortal Kombat movie, I’m pretty sure,” says Taslim. “People talk about the video game curse, but judging from what I have seen — the costumes, the choreography, the director’s vision — this one is probably going to break that curse. Fans and non-fans of the game are going to enjoy the movie. For the fans, they would [be cheering at] the movie. Non-fans are going to get into the Mortal Kombat world and probably play the game after watching it.”

The Swordsman (NC16) is now in cinemas. Warrior airs Sat, Cinemax (Singtel TV Ch 424 & StarHub Ch 611), 10am (same day as the US); it’s also streaming on HBO Go. Mortal Kombat opens in cinemas in January 2021.

Main photo: TPG News/Click Photos