Actor Joe Taslim during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday. The Jakarta Post/ANN/Masajeng Rahmiasri
INDONESIA—Following the press screening of “Star Trek Beyond” in Jakarta on Monday, Chinese Indonesian actor Joe Taslim shared his experience participating in the movie with The Jakarta Post.
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“It was a humble offer [by director Justin Lin],” said Joe, referring to his role in the film. Lin is no stranger to the actor, as the latter previously played in a movie also helmed by Lin, “Fast and the Furious 6”.
Taslim said that Lin had called him while he was taking acting classes in the US, saying there was a role that really suited him, and that he had readily agreed. “It’s my future goal to bring Indonesia[n] [actors] to more blockbuster movies,” he said.
Unlike his past roles, the father of two had to wear prosthetic makeup in “Star Trek Beyond”. Up to eight layers of makeup were pasted onto his face, making it at times difficult to breathe.
Joe added he had also had to wear a costume up to his head. Weighing up to eight kilograms, the costume made him sweat during the fighting scenes.
“It wasn’t easy,” Joe said as he recalled the three-month shooting experience over the course of a summer. “But I’m grateful that I got the chance to experience it.”
He also spoke of his collaboration with renowned actor Idris Elba, who played the role of Krall. “Idris was great. He was a good brother who often gave me input. He helped me without patronizing me,” said Joe.
“As he was very serious, I was very serious during the filming as well. No crew dared to disturb us during the standby period because they were afraid it might disturb our concentration. Acting is taken very seriously over there.”
The actor is slated to travel to San Diego in the US on Tuesday to join the movie premiere on Wednesday. Often bringing his wife and children to travel along with him, Joe laughed when asked about how his daughter reacted to his role.
“She loved it. She watches superhero movies and all that, so she wasn’t afraid of seeing my role. However, I was careful not to spill my role to her during the making. I was afraid she might tell her friends about my role while we were still shooting the film,” he said, laughing. TVJ
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