How Joe Taslim brings heart to the action genre in ‘The Furious’

I spoke with Taslim about the nature of fatherhood, how he thinks about justice in terms of The Furious and his action filmography as a whole, and the difficulties he experienced playing Sub-Zero versus playing Navin.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Andy Crump: This is an interesting character for you to play, because you've also got Mortal Kombat II out. Admittedly, you're not the main villain in that, like you were in the first, and I’m curious which kind of character you prefer to play. You’re playing a real human being in The Furious, as opposed to an immortal ninja with superpowers.
Joe Taslim: It’s a good contrast. 

AC: It’s a great contrast! Which do you vibe with more? They’re very distinct.
JT: Well, I'm a father of three kids, so if you ask me which I weigh more heavily on, it’s probably The Furious, and Navin. I had a hard time playing Sub-Zero, because I kill a child in that movie. I would never even imagine that somebody could do that. But of course, as an actor, you have to dedicate yourself, and you have to believe you're playing a character that would be able to do that. I remember I talked to Simon (McQuoid) about it. I know how to play a bad guy. I'm an actor, it's my job. But I wanted to add something. Even though the script doesn’t have a motivation for why (Sub-Zero) would do that, I wanted to play that—the craziness of that, the evil of that. He’s been through a lot of pain, and I didn’t know how to convey that to the audience because there's no scenes about that. But something happened to this guy, and (that’s why) he did what he did. For me, that's important. 

To be honest, if I don't do this—if I'm not an actor—for sure I’d probably work in a foundation or a kindergarten, or I’d be a sports teacher or whatever. That's something that I could see myself doing. 

The Furious has a great message. I'm based in Jakarta, and I know this issue is still happening. While we're talking right now, there are kids in that situation. So even though the movie is heavy on action, for me personally, as an actor, I really want people to have a little bit of that sympathy after they watch the movie, and think, “This thing's still happening,” and then, “What can we do?” If people can have consideration of that issue, that’s something I would appreciate. 

AC: That issue is top of mind now. The Furious’ release coincides with the Epstein files. Movies don't choose their moments, so it feels coincidental that the film is out now; it also feels like the theme of the hero protecting children has come up before (in your career), like in The Night Comes for Us. Where does that motif come from within you?
JT: I was born in South Sumatra. I remember when I was a kid, I didn't have electricity once in a while because my father forgot or didn't have money to pay the bill. I grew up in a very limited situation, but I know for sure there are a lot of kids out there suffering more than what I experienced. In that respect, (my upbringing) built me to become a person whose soft spot is my three kids. I would burn everything with everyone in it to save my kids. That's a bad thing to say, but it's just hyperbole.

AC: Yeah, I totally understand that feeling.
JT: I think that helped me with the motivation of being a journalist investigator who really dedicated himself to saving kids, because I thought about playing Navin the same way that I think of myself as Joe in real life, in terms of motivation: fighting and almost sacrificing myself, putting myself in danger, trying to save those kids. I imagined, if they were my kids, what would I do? That helped me with understanding this character, and helped me understand why I have to risk myself when I know I could die any second doing that. I believe there are good people out there that have the same way of thinking, because what if that's your kid? Are you going to just close your eyes and pretend like nothing happened?

AC: There’s a common perception, even today, that action cinema is about the fights and nothing else matters. People treat it like it’s the dummy of genre cinema, which I think is nonsense.
JT: It's nonsense! I agree.

AC: Total nonsense! I think a lot about the role justice plays in what we get out of action movies, and I'm curious about the role justice plays for you in your work? It’s a major motif in The Furious, but it’s there in The Night Comes for Us and The Raid, too.
JT: It's especially The Raid. (Sergeant Jaka) sacrifices himself for his people, even though his team members want him to survive. The Night Comes for Us is something different. It's more that (Ito) has been doing bad things most of his life, and at one point, he realizes that. I think in talking about justice, I believe there are people who think that justice is about doing good things, helping people. But there are people that live and grow up in bad situations, and that they don't understand what justice is until at one point they realize, “Eureka, holy cow, I've been doing a bad thing so far,” and then try to redeem themselves.

The way I see it in my work, especially the way I understand my roles, and the way I understand the reason how I fight, is two-sided. I never put myself on one side of a coin. I believe every human can be bad, and every bad person can be good when they find something in their life that's meaningful. Even in The Furious, is Navin really trying to save those kids because he thinks it’s a good thing to do? At the end of the movie, there’s a conversation about how he was actually trying to escape; he says the city is impossible to save, and there’s no way to defeat the system. At one point he wanted to leave with his wife, and just get out of there.

So you see the selfishness in this character at one point, and he regrets it, and you see a character that’s actually flawed, who lost someone they loved so much, and that changed him so much that he dedicated himself to do whatever it takes to find his wife while at the same time (achieving) her goal to save those kids. So what I like about The Furious and Navin is that he's not perfect, even when he fights. You see that he's not the best fighter. He's not a kung fu master, which I like about him. Usually I play over the top characters, but this one is such a human being: the way he acts, the way he lives, the way he fights. When I watched the film for the first time at (Toronto International Film Festival), I thought, “This guy could just die at any time.” And then he keeps going. 

That's what I like about this character. He’s very grounded and more human. (Director Kenji Tanigaki) was so smart to pair this character with other characters that are so bad*ss, so cool, so that we have a character protagonist who isn’t composed. For me, as an actor, that's more special than playing the character who’s just badass and cool.