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BD Wong | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Wong in 2016 | |||||||
| Born | Bradley Darryl Wong (1960-10-24)October 24, 1960 (age 64) San Francisco, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Other names | Bradd Wong | ||||||
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director | ||||||
| Years active | 1983–present | ||||||
| Spouse | |||||||
| Partner | Richie Jackson (1988–2004) | ||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 黃榮亮 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 黄荣亮 | ||||||
| |||||||
Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won aTony Award for his performance as Song Liling inM. Butterfly, becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award,Drama Desk Award,Outer Critics Circle Award,Clarence Derwent Award, andTheatre World Award for the same role. For his role as Whiterose in the television seriesMr. Robot, he was nominated for both aCritic's Choice Television Award and anEmmy forOutstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Wong is known for such roles as Howard Weinstein in the filmFather of the Bride,Dr. George Huang onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit,Father Ray Mukada onOz, Dr. John Lee onAwake,Dr. Henry Wu in theJurassic Park franchise,Hugo Strange inGotham, andNgapoi Ngawang Jigme in the filmSeven Years in Tibet. Wong is the host of theHLN medical documentary seriesSomething's Killing Me with BD Wong. He has also done extensive voiceover work and stage acting. Wong voiced CaptainLi Shang in theDisney animated filmMulan as well as its 2004direct-to-video sequel,Mulan II, and the 2005 video gameKingdom Hearts II.
Bradley Darryl Wong[1] was born on October 24, 1960,[2] and raised in San Francisco, California, to Roberta Christine Wong (née Leong), a telephone-company supervisor, and William D. Wong, a postal worker. He has one older brother and one younger brother.[3] He is of Chinese descent, with family from Hong Kong.[4]
Wong attendedLincoln High School, where he discovered his love of acting and starred as the lead in numerous school plays.[3] He went on to attendSan Francisco State University in the 1970s, where he was the only Asian American in the theater department, and there were no roles for him.[5]
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Wong gained wide attention as a result of hisBroadway debut inM. Butterfly oppositeJohn Lithgow. The play won multiple awards, including several for Wong, who at that time ceased using his full name in favor of his initials. He has since ceased the use of punctuation in his initials. He is notable as the only actor to be honored with theTony Award,Drama Desk Award,[6]Outer Critics Circle Award,Clarence Derwent Award, andTheatre World Award for the same role.[7] In addition to his stint onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit as FBI psychiatrist Dr. George Huang, he has had recurring roles inAll-American Girl and playedFather Ray Mukada on all six seasons ofOz, with guest appearances onThe X-Files andSesame Street.
On the big screen, he has appeared inThe Freshman (1990), the 1991 remake ofFather of the Bride and its 1995 sequel,Father of the Bride Part II,Jurassic Park (1993),Executive Decision (1996), andSlappy and the Stinkers (1997). He also provided the voice of CaptainLi Shang in Disney'sMulan (1998), its direct-to-videosequel, and the video gameKingdom Hearts II. He returned to Broadway as Linus in a revival ofYou're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, alongsideAnthony Rapp,Roger Bart, andKristin Chenoweth, and the 2004 revival ofStephen Sondheim'sPacific Overtures.
Wong narrated a public television documentary, "Maxine Hong Kingston: Talking Story" (1990) about the life and work of the ground-breaking Chinese American novelist.[8] In 1990, Wong objected toActor's Equity that the plan to use Welsh actorJonathan Pryce in the role of The Engineer in the Broadway run ofMiss Saigon, which Pryce had played since the beginning of the show's 10-year extended run in London, would take jobs away from actors of Asian descent. Although the union barred Pryce from acting the role in response to Wong's complaint, vociferous opposition fromCharlton Heston and a threat by the musical's creator and producer,Cameron Mackintosh, to cancel the American production entirely, induced the union to reverse course.[citation needed] Pryce went on to win a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the role.
In 2008, Wong starred in the one-man showHerringbone, in which he portrayed 12 roles, at McCarter Theatre atPrinceton University. He brought the show to theLa Jolla Playhouse inSan Diego the following year. In 2012, Wong starred inHerringbone to benefit Dixon Place in New York for two performances. The production, recorded live for a 2014 CD release, was his first appearance in New York of the material, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the original New York production. In 2014, Wong starred in the U.S. premiere ofJames Fenton's acclaimed adaptation ofThe Orphan of Zhao, a classic Chinese legend that has its roots in the fourth century BC, directed by Carey Perloff atAmerican Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.).The Orphan of Zhao is an epic story of self-sacrifice and revenge. In the aftermath of a political coup, a country doctor is forced to sacrifice his son to save the last heir of a noble and massacred clan.The Orphan of Zhao was a co-production withLa Jolla Playhouse.
Wong announced his departure from the cast ofLaw & Order: SVU in July 2011, to join another NBC police drama,Awake, in which he portrayed Dr. Johnathan Lee, a confrontational therapist of an LAPD detective (portrayed byJason Isaacs) who lived in two realities.[9] Wong guest-starred in athirteenth season episode ofLaw & Order: SVU titled "Father Dearest" (which aired May 2, 2012).[10] In 2015, he was named Artist-in-Residence atLa Jolla Playhouse. Wong guest-starred onNCIS: New Orleans Episode 1.13 titled "The Walking Dead" (which aired February 3, 2015), where he portrayed Navy Lieutenant Commander Dr. Gabriel Lin.
Wong also played the enigmatic Whiterose, head of the hacker collective Dark Army, who lives a double life as Zhang, the Chinese Minister of State Security, onUSA Network'sMr. Robot. He was credited as a recurring role for the show's second season and promoted to main cast for the third season, which debuted October 11, 2017. On August 13, 2017, Wong began hosting the newHLN seriesSomething's Killing Me with BD Wong. The documentary explores strange and unexplainable, real medical ailments and attacks that may be gradual or descend rapidly. But in either case, if a cause and cure are not found immediately, these real-life patients will die.[11] In 2022, Wong was featured in the book50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre, with a profile written by theatre scholar Esther Kim Lee.[12]
Wong donates his time and resources to a number ofLGBT and arts-related charities, such as theAli Forney Center,Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS,Materials for the Arts,[13] and Rosie's Theater Kids, of which he is also a board member.[14]
Wong was in a long-term relationship with talent agent Richie Jackson from 1988 to 2004.[15] In 2000, the couple had twin sons, Boaz Dov and Jackson Foo Wong through asurrogate mother using Wong's sperm and an egg donated by Jackson's sister. Boaz Dov died 90 minutes after birth. In 2003, Wong wrote a memoir about his experiences with surrogacy titledFollowing Foo: The Electronic Adventures of the Chestnut Man (ISBN 9780060529536). In 2004, Wong and Jackson ended their relationship.[15] Wong co-parents his son with his ex-partner Jackson and Jackson's husband,Jordan Roth.[16] His son Jackson Foo is also gay, having come out at age 15.[17] On October 7, 2018, Wong married Richert John Frederickson Schnorr, his partner of 8 years, inBrooklyn, New York.[18]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Karate Kid Part II | Boy on Street | Credited as Bradd Wong |
| 1989 | Family Business | Jimmy Chiu, Adam's MIT Prof | |
| 1990 | The Freshman | Edward | |
| 1991 | Mystery Date | James Lew | |
| Father of the Bride | Howard Weinstein | ||
| 1992 | The Lounge People | Billy | |
| 1993 | Jurassic Park | Dr. Henry Wu | |
| And the Band Played On | Kiko Govantes | ||
| 1994 | The Ref | Dr. William Wong, Marriage Counselor | AkaHostile Hostages (uncredited)[19][20] |
| Men of War | Po | ||
| 1995 | Kalamazoo | Justin | |
| Father of the Bride Part II | Howard Weinstein | ||
| 1996 | Executive Decision | Sergeant Louie Jung | |
| Joe's Apartment | Cockroach | Voice | |
| 1997 | Seven Years in Tibet | Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme | |
| 1998 | Slappy and the Stinkers | Morgan Brinway | |
| Mulan | CaptainLi Shang | Voice | |
| The Substitute 2: School's Out | Warren Drummond | Straight-to-video | |
| 2002 | The Salton Sea | Bubba | |
| 2004 | Mulan II | Shang | Direct-to-video Voice |
| 2005 | Stay | Dr. Edmund Ren | |
| 2006 | Ira & Abby | Party Guest | |
| 2012 | White Frog | Oliver Young | |
| 2015 | Focus | Liyuan Tse | |
| Jurassic World | Dr. Henry Wu[21] | ||
| 2017 | The Space Between Us | Tom Chen | |
| 2018 | Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Dr. Henry Wu[21] | |
| Bird Box | Greg | ||
| 2022 | Jurassic World Dominion | Dr. Henry Wu | |
| Blue's Big City Adventure | Director | ||
| 2023 | Heart of Stone | King of Clubs | |
| The Monkey King | Buddha | Voice |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | No Big Deal | Miss Karnisian's Class | TV film; as Bradd Wong |
| 1986 | Simon & Simon | Counterboy – Photo Shop Clerk | Episode: "Mobile Home of the Brave" |
| 1987 | Double Switch | Waiter | TV film |
| 1988 | Crash Course akaDriving Academy | Kichi | TV film; as Bradd Wong |
| 1990 | Goodnight Sweet Wife: A Murder in Boston akaThe Charles Stuart Story | Kim Tan | TV film |
| 1991 | Alive from Off Center | Actor | Episode: "Dances in Exile" |
| 1993 | Sesame Street | Dr. Sing | 3 episodes |
| And the Band Played On | Kico Govantes | HBO TV film | |
| 1994–1995 | All-American Girl | Dr. Stuart Kim | 18 episodes |
| 1994 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Johnny Angel | Episode: "Magical Make-Over" |
| 1995 | Dazzle | Teng | TV film |
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | The Wolf Aladdin/The Genie | Episodes: "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Aladdin" | |
| Bless This House | Johnny Chen | Episode: "Neither a Borrower Nor a Landlord Be" | |
| 1996 | The X-Files | Det. Glen Chao | Episode: "Hell Money" |
| 1997–2003 | Oz | Father Ray Mukada | 47 episodes |
| 1998 | Reflections on Ice: Michelle Kwan Skates to the Music of Disney's 'Mulan' | Captain Li Shang | TV film; voice |
| 1999 | Chicago Hope | Dr. Kai Chang | Episode: "Upstairs, Downstairs" |
| 2000 | Welcome to New York | Dennis | Episode: "Jim Gets a Wig" |
| 2002 | Kim Possible | Agent Will Du | Voice; Episode: "Number One" |
| 2001–2015 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. George Huang | 143 episodes, recurring cast Seasons 2–3, Series regular, Seasons 4–12, Guest star Seasons 13-15, & 17 |
| 2004 | Century City | U.S. Attorney Matthew Chin | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007 | Marco Polo | Pedro | TV film |
| 2012 | Awake | Dr. John Lee | Series regular, 11 episodes |
| 2014 | The Normal Heart | Buzzy | HBO film |
| 2015 | NCIS: New Orleans | Navy Lieutenant Commander Dr. Gabriel Lin | Episode: "The Walking Dead" |
| 2015–2018 | Madam Secretary | Brent Rosen | Episodes: "The Kill List", "Refuge" |
| 2015 | Nurse Jackie | Doctor Wu | Episode: "Are You with Me, Doctor Wu?" |
| 2015–2019 | Mr. Robot | Whiterose/Minister Zhi Zhang | 22 episodes Recurring cast Seasons 1–2; series regular Seasons 3-4 Nominated—Critics' Choice Award for Best Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series |
| 2016–2019 | Gotham | Professor Hugo Strange[22] | 16 episodes |
| 2016 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Scientist | Episode: "Scientific Studies" |
| 2017–2019 | Something's Killing Me with BD Wong | Host/Presenter | 18 episodes |
| 2017 | DuckTales | Toad Liu Hai | Voice; Episode: "The House of the Lucky Gander!" |
| 2018 | American Horror Story: Apocalypse | Baldwin Pennypacker | 3 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | The Flash | Godspeed | Voice 2 episodes |
| 2020–present | Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens | Wally | Recurring role; 21 episodes |
| 2023 | Gremlins | Hon Wing | Voice; 10 episodes[23] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Kingdom Hearts II | CaptainLi Shang | English version |
| 2007 | Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ | ||
| 2015 | Lego Jurassic World | Henry Wu | |
| 2018 | Jurassic World Evolution | ||
| 2021 | Jurassic World Evolution 2 | ||
| 2023 | Disney Speedstorm | Captain Li Shang |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–2022 | Around the Sun | Dr. Lee | Voice 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988–1990 | M. Butterfly | Song Liling | Broadway debut Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Male Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Debut Performance Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Theatre World Award Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play |
| 1993 | Face Value | Randall Lee | |
| 1999 | You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown | Linus | |
| 2004–05 | Pacific Overtures | Reciter | |
| 2012 | Herringbone | Various characters | One-man show[24] |
| 2019 | The Great Leap | Wen Chang |
| Year | Name | Role | Theme Park | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Jurassic World: The Ride | Dr. Henry Wu | Universal Studios Hollywood | |
| 2021 | VelociCoaster | Universal's Islands of Adventure | ||
| TBA | DuckTales World Showcase Adventure[25] | Toad Liu Hai | EPCOT | Released December 16, 2022 |
| Year | Title | Author | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Shadow of a Broken Man | George C. Chesbro | Random House Audio |
| 1991 | The Fear in Yesterday's Rings | George C. Chesbro | Random House Audio |
| 1997 | Ticktock | Dean Koontz | Random House Audio |
| 2002 | Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress | Dai Sijie | Random House Audio |
| 2019 | The Red Scrolls of Magic | Cassandra Clare,Wesley Chu | Simon & Schuster Audio |
| 2020 | The Lost Book of the White | Cassandra Clare,Wesley Chu | Simon & Schuster Audio |
| 2022 | To Paradise | Hanya Yanagihara | Random House Audio |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Play | M. Butterfly | Won |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Debut Performance | Won | ||
| Theatre World Award | Won | |||
| Clarence Derwent Award | Most Promising Male Performer | Won | ||
| 2003 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Shanghai Moon | Nominated |
| GLAAD Media Award | Davidson/Valentini Award | Won | ||
| 2013 | Best Shorts Competition | Voice-Over Talent | The No Name Painting Association | Won |
| 2016 | Critics' Choice Television Award | Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | Mr. Robot | Nominated |
| 2017 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
