The Big Picture

Co-stars Andrew Koji and Jason Tobin were devastated by the cancellation news but were glad to return for another season of Warrior after the series was picked up by Max. The detailed sets of Warrior, including the Chinatown backlot, help transport the actors into the world of the show, making it easier to get back into character. The relationship between Ah Sahm and Young Jun is explored through collaboration and a focus on serving the story, and the family dynamic between Young Jun and Father Jun is a powerful element of the show’s writing.

[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Season 3 of Warrior.]In Season 3 of the Max series Warrior, based on the writings of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, Mai Ling (Dianne Doan) is attempting to consolidate power in her favor, but with change comes new enemies and allies are more important than ever. With Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji) juggling Tong politics with continuing to find his place in the Hop Wei and navigating the fact that Mai Ling is his sister, everything that’s simmering feels like it’s moving towards a boiling point with deadly consequences.

During this interview with Collider, co-stars Koji and Jason Tobin (who plays Young Jun, a young man trying to live up to his father’s legacy as he guides the Hop Wei tong) talked about how devastating it was when they thought the series wouldn’t return, prior to being picked up by Max, the incredibly detailed sets that they work on, the lessons their characters have learned, what they most enjoy about the relationship between Ah Sahm and Young Jun, the family dynamic between Young Jun and Father Jun (Perry Yung), and what it’s like to learn the choreography for the insane fight sequences.

This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Collider: There was definitely a minute there where it seemed like this season would not happen. How did you find out that you would actually get to return for another season? What was it like to even just get back in the mindset of these characters, after thinking you wouldn’t be playing these characters again?

JASON TOBIN: It was pretty devastating news to be honest, especially for me personally. I was legitimately hurt by the cancellation. I’ve been in this career for a long time, and I finally thought, “Okay, we’ve got a winner here. We’ve given it our all. Everyone on this team, top to bottom, from the writers to the producers to the extras. Everyone works so hard on this show. So, when they canceled it, I took it hard. And then, of course, we had a pandemic. When we finally got the call to come back, we came in with all that baggage, which was great because it helped with the storytelling and the acting and the performances for Season 3.

ANDREW KOJI: It was less about, “We’re going back into it,” and more about everything that we’ve learned along the way, in the past two and a half years or so. All the life experience we’ve had informed the performances. Everything we’ve learned fuels the season. The show has always felt like an underdog, from its inception in Bruce Lee’s mind, over 60 years ago now, to going to a different streamer. Everything has informed that, and we try and use it. So, it’s less going back, and more going forward.

Image via Max

It feels like, when you walk onto sets like this, even if you maybe weren’t in the headspace of the character, you immediately get transported. Is it easier or is it more challenging to get back into a world like this, when it is so specific and it is so detailed?

TOBIN: Our jobs, as actors, is to use our imagination. That’s the most powerful muscle that we have, and that’s the one that we try to use the most. But then, when you come onto the set of Warrior, because it’s a period piece, and we have these incredible sets, and we have this Chinatown backlot set that just keeps growing every season, when it’s dressed and all the performers are there in their costumes, and the lighting is going, and all the props are there, and it’s night, since we film a lot at night on the Chinatown backlot, you can’t help but be transported. It literally does a lot of the work for you because you don’t have to imagine that stuff. You’re just there. If there was apprehension with Season 3, just going through COVID, we were different people. Coming back was a gift, but it also came with mixed feelings. We’d all been through a lot of shit.

KOJI: There are historical things we can research with the story, but the most important thing for the interpretation of a character is understanding the emotional throughline and identifying with that. Having two and a half years to reflect on the story and the stuff we’d gone through, that was our guiding light. I think people did their best work this season. That’s not PR talk, that’s true.

Andrew, what do you think the most important lesson your character has learned, since he started his journey on this show?

KOJI: That’s a hard one. That’s a good question. It’s been little things, along the way, that have built up to the end of Season 2. That’s probably the biggest catalyst for Season 3. For Ah Sahm, realizing what he should fight for is probably the biggest lesson.

Image via Max

Jason, do you feel like Young Jun has learned any lessons, or does he always know better?

TOBIN: I do think he’s learned. He’s hotheaded and he’s stubborn, but he isn’t given a lot of credit for being a thinker. There are scenes and there are clues that show he actually does think about these things deeply. It’s part of the facade, that Young Jun is the fun Jun. At the end of Season 2, when he’s there contemplating and sitting outside with his father and he’s talking about Chinatown, he’s now the leader. They’ve just gone through this riot, and he’s really contemplating what it means to be a leader in this time. He is learning, but that doesn’t mean the lessons go down easily or go down well. But I can certainly say that he’s trying his best.

What do you guys most enjoy about getting to explore the relationship between your characters? Over your time on the series, it’s been so interesting to watch the dynamic evolve between your characters. They’re like brothers, but still don’t know whether they can fully trust each other. What has that been like to explore?

KOJI: From the beginning, when we met on the Chinatown backlot, what I love about working with Jason is that there’s no ego. When it comes to our dynamic, it’s all about what serves the story. We talk quite a bit, in depth, before and during the scenes, during rehearsal and while we’re prepping for them. That’s always fun to do.

TOBIN: It’s been an absolute pleasure. It’s such a gift to be given this role, and then to work with actors, like Andrew and the rest of our cast, who are so giving and who are all doing it for the right reasons, we’re all just trying to serve the story and serve the characters. And then, they give us these great characters and it’s just very enjoyable. Nothing’s stationary. Everything is volatile. There are constantly things bubbling up.

KOJI: And that’s a testament to Jonathan Tropper, Josh [Stoddard] and Evan [Endicott], and the whole writing team.

Image via Max

Jason, the family dynamic between Young Jun and Father Jun is so fascinating this season. I’ve never seen a story like that in a show like this. What was it like to explore that dynamic?

TOBIN: It’s powerful writing, and thank goodness they gave me that to play. I can’t speak for everyone, but we all have complicated relationships with our fathers, in real life, and I get to play it on film. I’ve often thought that these roles come at the right time in my life. As much as I infuse the scenes and the roles and the relationships with my own personality and my own experiences, they also reflect back on me and I learned from them. In many ways, I get to exorcize the feelings that I have. I love my old man, but we’ve had our ups and downs. Now, I get to play it on TV.

KOJI: Father-son dynamics are beautiful to explore. They knocked it out of the park.

TOBIN: One of those episodes was written by one of our cast members, Hoon Lee. Just to be able to read and perform his words, knowing his own life and his own experiences, it was just one of those beautiful things that we’ve been given the opportunity to perform.

Andrew, Ah Sahm seems to be at his best when he’s fighting more men at once than he should be able to defeat. What do you enjoy about shooting those big fight scenes, when you’re fighting multiple people at one time? Are those very different to stage?

KOJI: That’s just the character. For me, I’ve always found that the choreography of multiple person fighting is a lot easier to learn than one on one. It’s a lot easier to remember. One on ones are always a bit trickier because there’s less of a distinct visual cue. But they’re always fun. The fun part is the collaboration of spirit, and incorporating the character and the acting beats and the story moments within that. It’s about knowing when to play with the rhythm, when to ratchet it up, and when we need a moment of stillness. Because there’s trust there now, built over three seasons, we’re able to bring performance-based action that I think is quite rare these days.

Warrior is available to stream at Max.