Actor and martial arts athlete Joe Taslim has been making quite the name for himself in action cinema, first bursting onto a global stage with The Raid: Redemption as a SWAT team leader, and returning this week to theatres as a determined journalist in the equally kinetic and jaw dropping thriller The Furious, which, like The Raid, made a huge impression at the Toronto International Film Festival where it premiered last fall. Between those stints, viewers might also remember seeing him in the likes of Fast & Furious 6, The Night Comes for Us (another major TIFF success), the recent Mortal Kombat films (where he takes on the mask of Sub-Zero/Bi-Han), and the period series Warrior, all of which have become classics of the genre.
Directed by renowned stunt and fight choreographer Kenji Tanigaki, The Furious casts Taslim as Navin, a husband and journalist desperately searching for his missing wife, who was investigating a child smuggling ring when she suddenly disappeared. Navin finds an unlikely ally in an equally determined and undeterred mute father (played by Chinese martial arts legend Xie Miao) also searching for his missing daughter.
We caught up with Taslim recently to talk about developing his skills as both an actor and martial artist, working with a director like Tanigaki, what sets the role of Navin apart from his other characters, collaborating on screen with Xie Miao, and how The Furious offers a chance for viewers to see a long awaited on screen rematch between him and The Raid: Redemption’s stand out villain, Yayan Ruhian.
The Furious is in theatres everywhere on Friday, June 12, 2026.
