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Warrior Star Jason Tobin on Finding His Voice in Martial Arts Drama

Warrior star Jason Tobin on what's ahead for Young Jun in the third season of Max's martial arts drama, working with Andrew Koji & more.

Bruce Lee left such an immeasurable life in the performing and martial arts, but the legacy he leaves behind is the example he set in self-expression that lives on in projects like the Max series Warrior. It's something Jason Tobin found out early on when he auditioned for the Hop Wei leader Young Jun. As fans anticipate the long-awaited season three, given the two-and-a-half-year layoff, we'll find out the next brutal chapter in the martial arts drama. Tobin spoke to Bleeding Cool about Young Jun's evolution throughout the series, what we can expect this season, and learning from Lee's example in his life.

Warrior: A Test of Loyalty Between Brothers

Bleeding Cool: What can we anticipate for Young Jun in season three of 'Warrior?'

Tobin: When we first met Young Jun in season one and then became the boss in season two, we start season three at a point where he's found out Ah Sahm is the brother to Mai Ling (Dianne Doan), who leads his worst enemies [the Long Zii]. When we start season three in this sort of limbo of like, "Is my brother my right-hand man, or is this going to lead down a different path? What are we going to do about it?" If you look at the poster for season three, the tagline is "Choose a side," and this is a theme that we're going to be hitting a lot in this season. Young Jun, the thing about season three is that he also must go through a lot of growing pains being the boss in this post-riot era. The expression that sums it up is "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

What has the experience playing Young Jun taught you as an actor?

For a long time in my career, especially when you're getting started, you're building your confidence, technique, artistry, and self-expression within the roles you play. The thing that crystallized me when I started to play Young Jun started early in the process when I was allowed to read. I was given a lot of direction by the showrunner, casting director, and executive producer. They told me on many occasions, "Jason, we want you to read for this role. Please, play him chill." I was like, "Okay, that's not how I read it," but as an actor, I'm able to take direction. I took that and I played him chill, which went against my instincts.

Jonathan Tropper, the showrunner, called me back 30 minutes later, and he said to me, "We need to see the energy of this guy," and I said, "Of course you do!" At that moment, I heard Bruce Lee's voice. I heard him say, "You've got to honestly express yourself." I thought, "If I'm going to have the opportunity to play this role for however many seasons, then I need to play him in a way that brings me joy and honestly expresses myself in that role." I had been doing so ever since. After sending my next tape in, I got the role; the rest is history. The thing that I enjoy most about playing Young Jun is this is a sweetly unafraid person. He's the bravest character I've ever had the good fortune to play. The one thing that I hope to take away and have in my life as well.

Was there any aspect of production from any scenes, martial arts, or stunt work that was difficult?

What's wonderful about 'Warrior' is, first, that the script is amazing, and the storytelling is fantastic. As an actor, you get that enjoyment from acting the drama and characters, and seeing them fight for what they want is an enjoyable thing as a performer. On the other side, the physical side of it is that we get to express ourselves in the action, which is the fight scenes. That's rare when martial arts and great writing meet. That's something unique about our show, and that brings its challenges.

At the same time, I would come home exhausted from a long day shooting dramatic or action scenes, sometimes scenes that had both. While exhausting, they're always deeply satisfying. All of us, as performers, while we spend several months before the shoot, getting ready physically, and then when we're on the ground in Cape Town, we have an extensive team of stuntmen, trainers, and those that help us get in shape and sharpen our tools. The most difficult part is those long fight scenes because we're a small show. We are extremely ambitious, and every drop of money goes on the screen. Behind the scenes, we're a small show. That means intense days and high turnarounds. 'Warrior' is like Bruce Lee's famous one-inch punch. We'll show you what we can pack in that inch.

You and Andrew [Koji] have got great chemistry throughout the series. Can you break down working together, and how does that expand to the rest of the cast?

We have a fantastic cast. The moment we all met and landed in Cape Town, we all knew they had something special with this show. At every single step of the way, we always approached it with gratitude, joy, complete commitment, and passion. Even when our future was uncertain in seasons two and three, we always held out hope. We were always a family, and a cliche to say that, but we are that close.

Specifically, Andrew, from the moment we met, I remember the first conversation I had with him. I met him on the Chinatown backlot at Cape Town Home Studios. We met, started talking instantly, and he told me how he was feeling this pressure to "play" Bruce Lee. They tell him, "You're going to be like Bruce Lee." This massive pressure, this legend on his shoulders, and I said, "No, Bruce Lee's philosophy was about expressing yourself, being true to who you are. You're not playing Bruce Lee. You're playing Ah Sahm. Had Bruce Lee made the show 50 years ago, he would have been Ah Sahm. If you want to pay homage, you want to be respectful to him, be yourself in the role." He's exactly what he is. I look at Bruce Lee as "The Little Dragon," and I look at Andrew as "The Wolf" since he gives off this wolf energy, do you know what I mean? [laughs]

It's funny because, like I told Joe Taslim, who's another fantastic martial artist and incredible actor, played Sub-Zero in 'Mortal Kombat.' He's a legend from the 'Raid' movies. He calls me "The Hyena." [Andrew and I are] both British and Asian, growing up in the UK. We understand each other and have a great rapport on and off set. He and I bond over how much the work is important to us. We take it seriously, and we have a lot of fun while we're doing it. Like look Young Jun and Ah Sahm, when we're about to do scenes and hit the ground in Cape Town, we look at each other. We dare each other to do our best work. At the end of the season, when we wrapped the last day, I'm not going to lie to you. We pigged out! After all that dieting and training, out comes the milkshakes, pizzas, and ice cream. It's gross, to be honest [laughs].

Have we seen your favorite scene as Young Jun, or will that come this season?

Wow! Every season there have been so many highlights of my life in my career. Season three packed even more of that in, and on a personal level, it's been incredible. I'm grateful to the writing team because they've given me so much to work with. It's an incredible season that I can't wait for the audience to see. It's one of those things where it'd be crazy not to get another season after that. If it is our last season, man, we ended on a high note.

Warrior, which also stars Olivia Cheng, Kieran Bew, Langley Kirkwood, Dean Jagger, Joanna Vanderham, Tom Weston-Jones, and Hoon Lee, streams Thursdays on Max.

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