Joe Taslim

Early life

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

Judo

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.

Film career

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.

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).

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

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. 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. The series premiered on 5 April 2019.

In July 2019, Taslim was cast as Bi-Han / Sub-Zero in the Mortal Kombat reboot. The film premiered in April 2021 in theaters and on HBO Max. Taslim will reprise the role in the sequel Mortal Kombat II, with the character coming back as Noob Saibot.

Personal life

Taslim married Julia Taslim in 2004, and they have three children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Sport achievements

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (18 March 2025). "Sinopsis dan Jadwal Tayang Film 'MORTAL KOMBAT 2', Joe Taslim Jadi Salah Satu Pemeran".
2. (3 October 2021). "[INTERVIEW] Joe Taslim speaks what judo meant to him.".
3. Asia, Tatler. "Joe Taslim".
4. Yamato, Jen. (2021-05-08). "'Mortal Kombat's' Joe Taslim reveals hidden talents and his dream director wish list".
5. (31 December 2011). "HBO Asia's 'Dead Mine' sports international cast and crew". The Sun Daily.
6. Siregar, Lisa. (27 December 2011). "HBO Asia Film is 'Dead' on Target". [[Jakarta Globe]].
7. Si Wan, Leow. (6 January 2012). "Dead Mine: Action-horror film is HBO Asia's first original production".
8. Ngantung, Daniel. (3 August 2012). "Film Dead Mine Dirilis Pertengahan September".
9. Sneider, Jeff. (7 July 2012). "'Raid' actor joins 'Fast and Furious 6'".
10. (17 May 2013). "Gareth Evans and XYZ Films Team Up for Bloody Thriller The Night Comes For Us". [[Dread Central]].
11. Primera, Dita. (26 October 2016). "Iko Uwais dan Joe Taslim Siap Main Bareng di 'The Night Comes From Us'". Solopos FM.
12. Donato, Matt. (25 September 2018). "'The Night Comes for Us' Review: A Bloody, Action-Packed, Punch-a-Minute Thriller [Fantastic Fest]". Slash Film.
13. Andreeva, Nellie. (11 October 2017). "'Warrior': Cinemax Sets Cast & Director For Bruce Lee-Inspired Martial Arts Series".
14. (8 February 2019). "Justin Lin talks bringing Bruce Lee's passion project to life in Warrior first look photos".
15. Galuppo, Mia. (9 July 2019). "'Mortal Kombat' Movie Finds Its Sub-Zero (Exclusive)".
16. (16 May 2025). "Mortal Kombat 2 Won't be Able to Replicate a Sub-Zero Twist the Video Game Did 32 Years Ago".
17. (9 January 2025). "20 Tahun Menikah, Ini Potret Joe Taslim Bareng Julia sang Istri - Selalu Romantis".
18. Frater, Patrick. (25 April 2024). "'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' Producer Bill Kong Aims to Reset Martial Arts Genre With 'The Furious,' Directed by Tanigaki Kenji (EXCLUSIVE)".
19. M. Berlian. (15 January 2012). "Exclusive Feature: Joe Taslim of "The Raid"". DA MAN.
20. Manila, Sinta. (10 January 2017). "Ini Lho Foto Joe Taslim Jaman Berondong Saat Pernah Harumkan Nama Bangsa".