
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 English 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 verbalized his dream to become an actor.
Tobin has appeared in over twenty films and also in several television productions. He also 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 the film, Tobin won a "Best Actor" or "Breakout Performance for an Actor" award at the 2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

F9
2021 · as Earl

Rob-B-Hood
2006 · as Debt Collector

Ballad of a Small Player
2025 · as Mr. Huang

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
2006 · as Earl

Fistful of Vengeance
2022 · as William Pan

Chromophobia
2006 · as Fat Boy

Pound of Flesh
2015 · as Liam

Beverly Hills Ninja
1997 · as Busboy

House of Fury
2005 · as Rocco's Fighter

John Rambo
2027

Better Luck Tomorrow
2003 · as Virgil Hu

#1 Serial Killer
2013 · as Eddy Tsai

The Heavenly Kings
2006 · as Sandy

Searching for Anna May Wong
2020 · as Self

Hammerlock
2002 · as Victor

Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee
2007 · as Toby Jackson (scenes deleted)

Sonora: The Devil’s Highway
2019 · as Lee Wong

The Counting House
2007 · as Eugene