Jason Tobin (born 12 June 1974), credited in Chinese as To Jun Wai () is a Hong Kong-British film and television actor. He is known for his role as Young Jun in the HBO MAX series Warrior and as Mr. Lao in the Disney+ series A Thousand Blows.
Early life and education Tobin was born in Hong Kong, 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 from high school, he moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career.
Career Tobin has appeared in several 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 cracker jack 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. 17 years later, Los Angeles Times named it the best Asian American film of all time after review by critics.
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.
He starred as the Eddy Tsai, the lead role in the Asian American "serial killer" film Chink, directed by Stanley Yung, written by Koji Steven Sakai and produced by Quentin Lee. 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.Visual Communications, FESTIVAL AWARDEES RECOGNIZED He 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 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. The Hollywood Reporter described Tobin "as a source of both unpredictable line-readings and humor", while The New York Times pointed out his charismatic performance. The series was renewed for a second season and third season until it was eventually cancelled in December 2023.
In February 2021, Tobin was cast as William Pan in the Netflix film Fistful of Vengeance. It was released on 17 February 2022.
In 2025, he stars in the Edward Berger film The Ballad of a Small Player with Colin Farrell and The Undeclared War with Simon Pegg. He is currently shooting Kung Fu Deadly in Dublin Ireland.
Personal life Tobin resides in Hong Kong, London, England and Sydney, Australia. He has a wife and three children.
He was influenced by Bruce Lee who inspired him when he was a child.
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 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)2015Pound of FleshLiamDirected 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 2025 Ballad of a Small Player Mr. Huan Directed by Edward Berger, written by Rowan Joffé 2027 John Rambo Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes 2019–2023 Warrior Young Jun 2025-2026 A Thousand Blows Lao Lam2026VigilHuang Chen2026The Undeclared WarNicky Chan
Awards Best Actor, Chink (also known as #1 Serial Killer), 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Best Actor - Dramatic, Jasmine, 2015 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Best Actor - Jasmine, 2016 London Independent Film Awards Best Actor - Jasmine, 2017 International Independent Film Awards
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