There’s one problem with having a legit martial arts actor like Joe Taslim play the uber-villain Sub-Zero in the new “Mortal Kombat” movie: He was too fast for the mask.
Legions of “Mortal Kombat” video game fans would demand their cold-harnessing, frozen-hearted assassin wear his signature mask in the film adaptation (in theaters Friday and streaming on HBO Max) just like the 1995 “Mortal Kombat” film.
But the mask couldn’t keep up with Taslim, 39, a member of his native Indonesia’s national judo team from 1997 to 2009.
“When I moved so fast, the mask would only follow,” says Taslim. “It was quite a challenge fighting like that.”
After it was reengineered for Taslim’s head speed, the visage stayed, keeping the mystery. So who is the man behind Sub-Zero’s mask? The thoughtful Taslim answered our questions and explained his notorious alter-ego:
Why Sub-Zero needs that rad mask
The origin story behind the assassin’s face apparel is not explained in “Mortal Kombat.” But Taslim’s warrior, initially maskless and called Bi-Han, kill Hanzo Hasashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the rival warrior’s wife and kid. That’s all in the first five minutes. After that, he’s masked and transformed into a Sub-Zero.
Taslim has pondered this brutal killing for Sub-Zero’s motivation and has a mask theory (Hint: It’s not about looking rad).
“For me, it’s not just for coolness,” says Taslim. “After Bi-Han killed Hanzo and his family, that’s probably the first time he killed a little kid. So every time he looks at himself in a mirror, the nightmare pops out. So that’s why the mask hides the pain and all the guilt. And he goes from Bi-Han to Sub-Zero.”
Why Sub-Zero has so much rage
“Mortal Kombat” is too busy introducing extreme warriors and more extreme ways of killing them off to get into feelings and backstories. But Sub-Zero has serious, unexplained rage issues. Taslim’s thought? “My approach is pain.”
Not the pain Sub-Zero delivers to his foes but his character’s inner pain after he and his brother were abducted as children and trained to be assassins. Once again, the movie does not address part of the character’s lore.
“A lot of tragic things have happened to him since he was born, a lot of pain,” says Taslim. “I didn’t choose the path to be an assassin. I was abducted when I was a kid. That’s the energy I show in my performance. This rage and anger are combined into one whole energy.”
Why taslim’s wife saved his Sub-Zero angry face
Director Simon McQuoid knew he’d need plenty of close-ups of masked Sub-Zero, putting attention onto Taslim’s intense eyes and perfect eyebrows. “It’s all about his eyes,” says McQuoid. “I even jokingly said, ‘Joe, I only cast you for your eyebrows.’ “
Taslim credits his wife of 17 years, Julia, for saving his eyebrows before filming. “She was like, ‘You need to do something about those; it’s like a jungle; I’m going to cut them.’ And then Simon told me I have the best eyebrows.”
ta slim’s genuine kindness did not harm sub-Zero
By all accounts, Taslim is the most gentle, kindest man. “He’s just a lovely, giggly guy,” says McQuoid. That niceness doesn’t harm his Sub-Zero. Taslim has a theory on that.
“To be a great villain and evil, you must understand all the values of kindness first. And then you destroy everything and say, ‘If I lost all the kindness in my life. What’s going to happen?'” says Taslim. “It’s just different when people are bad from when they are born. They don’t have that layer.”
How Taslim is even faster than Sub-Zero
McQuoid says there were times he had to instruct Taslim to move slower in his Sub-Zero fight scenes literally.
“It’s really about his arm speed and knowing, then playing out, the fight choreographies so incredibly quickly,” says McQuoid. “Sometimes it was like, ‘Drop it into third gear, mate.'”
Taslim was even surprised. “I never think I have that superpower of being fast. But when I’m in the zone, I have to give everything. I didn’t hold back. It made me faster,” he says. “Then they watched it onscreen and were told to go slower; the camera couldn’t follow. So I adjusted.
