Jason Tobin

He was born in Hong Kong where he attended the King George V School in Kowloon, Hong Kong; he is of mixed parentage, being half British Chinese and half Chinese. Shyness kept him out of school drama productions and it wasn't until the age of 18 while living in Asia, and ready to return to the UK to study law at university, that he realized his dream to become an actor.[2]

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.[3][4][5][6] 17 years later, LA Times named it the best Asian American film of all time, as judged by 20 Asian American critics and curators.[7]

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.[8][9] 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 reunited with Better Luck Tomorrow 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.[10] Dan Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter wrote “Tobin, whose Young Jun grew on me with each episode as a source of both unpredictable line-readings and humor”.[11] Mike Hale from The New York Times noted “...one thing “Warrior” has no lack of is charismatic Asian actors: Jason Tobin of Lin's “Better Luck Tomorrow” as a tong heir...” [12] The series' critical success has ensured a continuation into its second season.[13]

Tobin lives in Hong Kong and in London. He says he is a big fan of Bruce Lee "because he's the ultimate badass and he inspired me as a kid." [15] He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, AFTRA and Equity.[16]

• Jason Tobin at IMDb