(JP/Nurhayati)It's more than just muscle cars and packed racing scenes ' Indonesian action star Joe Taslim is giving the latest Fast & Furious 6 action flick some of his own kicks.

The judo athlete-turned-actor admitted he was nervous at times during the filming but thrilled to become part of the famous Hollywood franchise, sharing the big screen with names like Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.

'Well, it was a gigantic project! They spent a good amount of money on each shooting day, making my heart beat faster sometimes, afraid I couldn't deliver,' said the 31-year-old, who rose to fame following his role in the action blockbuster The Raid.

The father of two landed the role around a year ago after Fast & Furious' director Justin Lin and the producer of Universal Pictures saw The Raid during the Sundance Film Festival and noticed him. He was offered a casting opportunity.

'They offered me an audition, asking me to send them a video of me doing some lines in English and another one doing a fight scene,' he says.

In the process, he was very much helped by Gareth Evans, The Raid's director.

'And, I got the role,' he said prior to the film's press screening on Friday. Fast 6 will premiere here on May 22 in the country.

Joe admitted he is a big fan of the series, which started in 2001 and centers on illegal street racing and heists, with Fast 5 and 6 as his all-time favorites.

'The Fast 5 is awesome but in the 6 it got even crazier,' he says.

During the first three weeks abroad prior to the shooting sessions, he made several adjustments and set his focus on physical training, screening, and makeup to wardrobe testing to ensure his best performance.                                                                

'My scenes were shot in London and Spain. Whenever I felt nervous, I tried to motivate myself, telling myself that I got the role, the studio chose me and they believed in my ability. I had to believe in myself and convince myself that I could do it.'

Keeping that in mind, soon, he became his character.

'After overcoming my nervousness, I started to perform all out in every scene ' my character was a bad guy so I became one,' Joe laughed.

In a subway station, for example, he was given a heavy-budget scene ' which involved the closure of Waterloo station for the whole day ' where he had to show his martial arts skill.

'That was totally insane, I mean, the pressure was so heavy. They gave me a rare opportunity, so I just had to give them back 1,000 percent to ensure the scene worked out.'

The job, he said, also made him proud of being able to represent Indonesia within Hollywood's professional film industry.

In one of his scenes, director Lin even allowed him to use Bahasa Indonesia.

'The director said my character is a super soldier who can speak four, five languages. Along with that, he allowed me to put an identity on the line. When I suggested to him that I'd do the line in Indonesian, he approved,' Joe says.

'Well, it's a surprise for me. I didn't think that he [Lin] would keep the scene. In fact he did, so I'm super happy.'

The filming process caused him no significant trouble but the hardest thing for him was the pressure to maintain Indonesia's good image.

'If I suck, my country will get a bad name,' Joe says. 'But if I'm good, a wider opportunity for Indonesians will open up. So, I just showed them discipline, good attitude, hard work and focus.'

Popular

Indonesian hotel chain confirms exit from Cuba

Corruption scandals, rupiah fall revive reshuffle talks

Waiting is not an option