Jason Tobin
Born
To Jun Wai (杜俊緯)

(1975-07-12) July 12, 1975
Hong Kong
Other namesJason Tobin
OccupationActor
Known forBetter Luck Tomorrow, Warrior
TelevisionWarrior
MovementAsian American Film
SpouseMichelle Lau
Children3

Jason Tobin, credited in Chinese as To Jun Wai (杜俊緯), is a Hong Kong-British film and television actor[1] best known for his work in the lead role of Young Jun in the HBO MAX series Warrior.

Early life and education

Tobin was born in Hong Kong,[2] where he attended the King George V School in Kowloon. He also attended boarding schools in the UK. His father is English and his mother is Chinese. After graduating high school, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.[3][4]

Career

Tobin has appeared in over twenty films and television productions. His breakout film was Better Luck Tomorrow by Justin Lin, starring alongside Parry Shen, Sung Kang, Roger Fan and John Cho, which debuted at Sundance Festival. In New York Magazine, critic Bilge Ebiri described enjoying "...one crackerjack performance, in Jason Tobin’s unbridled portrayal of a hyper, horny, and confused brat." Featuring the adventures of four overachievers, the film is widely praised for breaking the model minority stereotype of Asian Americans on screen.[5][6][7][8] 17 years later, LA Times named it the best Asian American film of all time, as judged by 20 Asian American critics and curators.[9]

Tobin was one of several Better Luck Tomorrow cast members alongside Sung Kang to appear in the Fast & Furious franchise movies starting with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, where he portrayed one of Han's crew members and Sean's friend named Earl. He later reprised the character in F9. Both films were also directed by Justin Lin.

He stars as the main character Eddy Tsai in the Asian American "serial killer" film Chink, directed by Stanley Yung, written by Koji Steven Sakai and produced by Quentin Lee. The film also stars Eugenia Yuan and Tzi Ma. For his performance in Chink (re-titled as #1 Serial Killer), Tobin won a "Best Actor" or "Breakout Performance for an Actor" award at the 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.[10][11] Tobin also received a "Best Actor - Dramatic" award at the 2015 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival for his performance in the film Jasmine (2015).

In 2018, he once again reunited with director Justin Lin to star in the Cinemax series Warrior, a martial arts drama based on an original idea by the late Bruce Lee and produced by his daughter Shannon Lee.[12] The Hollywood Reporter described Tobin "as a source of both unpredictable line-readings and humor",[13] while The New York Times pointed out his charismatic performance.[14] The series was renewed for a second season.[15]

In February 2021, Tobin was cast as William Pan in the Netflix film Fistful of Vengeance.[16] It was released on February 17, 2022.[17]

Personal life

Tobin resides in Hong Kong and London, England. He has a wife and three children.[4]

He is an admirer of Bruce Lee "because he's the ultimate badass and he inspired me as a kid."[18] He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA and Equity.[19]

After filming season one of Warrior, Tobin was diagnosed with prediabetes and was close to having Type 2 diabetes. In order to improve his health, he changed his diet and training by working with ATP Fitness, which helped him become physically fit and mobile for his role as Young Jun. Tobin successfully reversed his prediabetes and managed his blood sugar level before filming Warrior season two.[20][21][22]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Yellow Yo-Yo Directed by Chris Chan Lee
2002 Better Luck Tomorrow Virgil Hu Directed by Justin Lin[23]
2005 House of Fury Rocco's fighter Directed by Stephen Fung
2006 Rob-B-Hood Debt Collector Directed by Benny Chan
The Heavenly Kings Sandy Directed by Daniel Wu
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Earl Directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan
2012 Chink Eddy Tsai Directed by Stanley Yung, written by Koji Steven Sakai, produced by Quentin Lee (Winner of Best Actor Award at the 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival)
2015 Jasmine Leonard To Directed and written by Dax Phelan (Winner of Best Actor - Dramatic Award at the 2015 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival)
2015 Pound of Flesh Liam Directed by Ernie Barbarash
2019 Sonora: The Devil's Highway Lee Wong Directed by Alejandro Springall, written by Guillermo Munro Palacio and John Sayles
2021 F9 Earl Directed by Justin Lin, written by Justin Lin and Daniel Casey
2022 Fistful of Vengeance William Pan Directed by Roel Reiné, written by Cameron Litvack, Jessica Chou and Yalun Tu

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2019–present Warrior Young Jun[12]
TBA A Thousand Blows TBA Filming

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Award Winning Hollywood Actor & Director Jason Tobin takes the CMHK Stage". Savvy Creative. 2016.
  2. ↑ "Interview (Part 1): Jason Tobin on Honoring Bruce Lee and Coming "Home" to Warrior | POC Culture". 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  3. ↑ "Interview - Jason Tobin". jasontobin.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "INTERVIEW (Part 2) - Jason Tobin Explains What Happened After Better Luck Tomorrow, Who the Biggest Badass on 'Warrior' and So Much More! | POC Culture". 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  5. ↑ "Death of the 'model minority'". Los Angeles Times. 2003-04-11. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  6. ↑ Mitchell, Elvis (2003-04-11). "FILM REVIEW; Teenagers Determined to Damage Their Résumés". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  7. ↑ Kim, Jane Yong (2018-08-21). "The Film to Watch Alongside 'Crazy Rich Asians'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  8. ↑ "How Dare You Represent Your People That Way: The Oral History of 'Better Luck Tomorrow'". GQ. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  9. ↑ "The 20 best Asian American films of the last 20 years". Los Angeles Times. 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  10. ↑ Visual Communications, FESTIVAL AWARDEES RECOGNIZED
  11. ↑ Gregg Kilday, Lee Isaac Chung Takes Two Top Prizes at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. 1 2 Andreeva, Nellie (2017-10-11). "'Warrior': Cinemax Sets Cast & Director For Bruce Lee-Inspired Martial Arts Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-10-20.
  13. ↑ "'Warrior': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  14. ↑ Hale, Mike (2019-04-03). "Review: 'Warrior,' Pitched by Bruce Lee and Made by Cinemax". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  15. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2019-04-24). "'Warrior' Renewed For Season 2 By Cinemax". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-12-16.
  16. ↑ Petski, Denise (February 26, 2021). "'Wu Assassins' Standalone Movie Set At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  17. ↑ Massoto, Erick (January 20, 2022). "'Fistful of Vengeance' Trailer Reveals the 'Wu Assassins' Standalone Movie Coming to Netflix". Collider. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
  18. ↑ GIANT ROBOT - Transmissions Interview”.
  19. ↑ Representation - Jason Tobin”.
  20. ↑ "Jason Tobin on Instagram: "When I wrapped shooting season 1 of Warrior I went home and had my annual checkup and I found out I was prediabetic. My doctor told me if I got the same result at the next test I'd be type 2 diabetic. I read about the effects of diabetes and the multitude of ways it can kill you and it spooked me. All of the sudden the amazing things in my life, my wife, three daughters and my career, which I felt was only just getting started with Warrior, seemed to be in jeopardy. I didn't want to lose any of the time that I had left to spend on this earth with my loved ones, to this disease. I was determined to do whatever I could to change course but I was so confused by what I could and could not eat after years of having received wisdom ingrained in me. I had always believed eating oats and fruit in the morning was the healthiest thing I could have for breakfast but if you're insulin resistant, in terms of blood sugar, you might as well be eating a chocolate cake! Luckily, while listening to Georges St-Pierre @georgesstpierre talk about him, I came across Dr. Jason Fung's excellent book the Diabetes Code and it cleared the fog for me. Essentially prediabetes and type 2 diabetes is a dietary disease caused by the modern diet, which means, fortunately, it can be reversed by changing what you eat and when you eat. When I took this photo prior to season 2 of Warrior I had succesfully [sic] lowered my blood glucose level to the point that I'm was no longer in danger of becoming type 2. It was a massive win for me. And while I wanted to look good for season 2 and most people assumed that I got ripped for the screen it really stemmed from my not wanting to die prematurely. Sometimes fear is a good thing. #Repost @atpfitnesslife • • • • • • ATP Personal Training . HBO's Warrior and Universal's Fast and the Furious 9, Jason Tobin. . Commit to your health and fitness journey with ATP. . . #fastandfurious #fastandfurious9 #fast9 #thefastsaga #ATPDNA #atpfitness #beyondtransformation #personaltrainerhk #gymhk #personaltraining #hongkong #hkfitness #prediabetes #type2diabetes #LCHF #lchfdiet #lowcarb #lowcarbhighfat"".
  21. ↑ "One year after getting in shape Jason Tobin is still looking amazing!".
  22. ↑ "HBO's Jason Tobin in Amazing Shape Thanks to ATP Personal Trainers".
  23. ↑ Oliver Wang and Hua Hsu (Apr 11, 2003). "Taking on Tomorrow". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
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