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Joe Taslim: Alien Badass in ‘Star Trek’
JP/Donny FernandoWhen watching the highly anticipated sci-fi movie Star Trek Beyond, many Indonesian moviegoers may be a little distracted: They are unlikely to recognize the country’s action star, Joe Taslim, throughout the 122-minute film
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JP/Donny Fernando
When watching the highly anticipated sci-fi movie Star Trek Beyond, many Indonesian moviegoers may be a little distracted: They are unlikely to recognize the country’s action star, Joe Taslim, throughout the 122-minute film.
In the Justin Lin-directed movie, Joe is transformed into a lizard-like alien called Manas, who fights Captain Kirk and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew with exceptional combat skills.
Joe regarded Beyond — his second Hollywood movie after blockbuster Fast & Furious 6 — as “the most challenging project that he had ever had” as he had to develop specific gestures and a voice for the alien character, as well as performing all the stunts inside the heavy costume and makeup prosthetics.
But Beyond has also given him delightful memories. It allowed him to work with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana and Golden Globe-winning actor Idris Elba. The project also brought back memories of his late father, a Trekker, a fan of the franchise.
Born in Palembang, South Sumatra, to a Chinese-Indonesian couple 35 years ago, Joe grew up watching the Star Trek television series with his family.
“My late father was quite a fan. The first character that stayed in my mind was Spock. Once, I cut my hair so I looked like him,” he said after the Star Trek Beyond premier in Jakarta on Monday.
“It’s unbelievable that I can finally star in Star Trek,” the judo athlete-turned-action star said.
The offer for the Star Trek role came at the time when Joe was taking acting classes in the US. Lin, who previously directed Joe in Fast & Furious 6, invited Joe to the casting.
“Days later, Justin said: ‘I want you to play Manas, if it suits your schedule and if you are interested in joining us on Star Trek Beyond,’” Joe recalled. “It was a humbling offer.”
“The project is in line with my vision to increase the Indonesian presence in blockbuster movies. This is the second opportunity [after Fast & Furious 6] and hopefully there will be a third one.”
Joe laughed at the fact that his role, Manas, was the enemy of his childhood hero, Commander Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew. “I am part of it [Star Trek] even though I am kind of against them,” Joe smiled.
Throughout his career, Joe has shown himself as a tough and versatile fighter. As an athlete, he won several regional and national judo championships before an injury forced him to retire in 2009.
As an actor, Joe combined his skills in judo, wushu, taekwondo and pencak silat, to deliver dazzling fight scenes in the 2011 critically acclaimed The Raid and the 2013 Fast & Furious 6.
Despite his experience, Joe soon realized nothing could have fully prepared him for Beyond.
Throughout the three months of filming in Vancouver and Los Angeles, Joe had to wake up at 2 a.m. every day and undergo a grueling four to five hours of makeup. Oscar-winning special makeup artist Joel Harlow pasted layers of prosthetics onto his face. The prosthetics covered his face so tightly that at times Joe felt it was difficult to breathe.
“The first week was extraordinary. The prosthetics completely covered my face, except for two holes for my nose. I sometimes felt claustrophobic.”
Under the sweltering summer sun in Vancouver, Joe acted and fought inside the costume and prosthetics that weighed up to 8 kilograms.
Luckily, Joe had someone who shared a similar malaise, Idris Elba, who played Krall, Manas’ ruthless alien commander.
“Idris and I supported each other. He is a great actor, an amazing big brother, who gave me a lot of input,” Joe said. “He was very serious on the set, prompting me to be serious too. When we had put on our makeup and costumes, no crew dared to disturb us as it might have broken our concentration.”
While receiving lots of acting tips from cast mates, Joe tried to develop the gestures and the hoarse, deep voice of Manas on his own.
“Justin [Lin] gave me a lot of freedom to decide how Manas moved and talked. I was lucky to work with great individuals who supported and trusted me.”
Support also came from his wife, Julia, and their three children, who visited Joe in Vancouver for two weeks.
“It is hard to be an actor who sometimes has to fully immerse in his role, but at the same time you have a family you can’t leave behind. The only solution is to involve your family in it,” he says.
“I show them what I do for living. So the children realize I work so hard as an actor to pay for their school tuition.”
While taking the family on a tour around the set, Joe made sure he did not spill his role to his children. “I was afraid that if I shared it, they would tell their schoolmates.”
After keeping his role secret from his family, friends and the press for over a year, Joe could finally tell all and watch his performance for the first time during the Star Trek Beyond premier in Jakarta on Monday.
“Oh my God. It is so cool,” he said after the movie screening. “It is not a kind of good guy against bad guy movie. It is about two parties who hold different dreams and perspectives about the future.”
A day after the Jakarta premier, Joe, Julia and their eldest daughter flew to San Diego, California, to attend the US premier of Star Trek Beyond.
Looking back at his experience with Star Trek Beyond, Joe is grateful the film helped him to grow as an action star.
“I am lucky to have had this extraordinary experience. Having experience with such a filming regime, I will definitely be stronger [for future movie projects].”
