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Cha Shao-kwong (born 15 September 1961), professionally known asXie Shaoguang, is aSingaporean actor, chef and former monk best known for acting in many Chinese-language television series produced byMediaCorp Channel 8. He was prominently a full-timeMediacorp artiste from 1989 to 2005. He re-signed with MediaCorp on 5 September 2024, citing possible future projects.

Widely regarded as one of Singapore's best actors, Xie received fiveStar Awards for Best Actor, a record that he held for 15 years for the most wins in that category before being surpassed byChen Hanwei in 2019.

Since the start of his acting career in 1989 in the television seriesA Mother's Love (亲心唤我心), Xie has received numerous accolades, including winning theStar AwardsBest Actor award five times and theBest Supporting Actor award twice since the ceremony's inception in 1994. One of his most notable roles is the Chinese folk deityJi Gong in the 1997 television seriesThe Legends of Jigong.^[1]

In 2005, Xie formalised his plans to retire from the entertainment industry when he decided not to renew his contract which expired in September the same year, although his intention to quit has been made known years earlier.^[1][2] He said that after retirement, he would be living inMalaysia, where he planned to open a refuge for stray dogs and cats. His last screen appearance was in the television seriesBaby Blues, which ended its run on 9 September 2005.^[3]

After a 12-year hiatus, Xie made a short official media appearance on 14 October 2017 to conduct acting classes for younger actors.^[4] Xie has stated he would return to acting, if there is a role that can persuade him to do so.^[5]

In 2024, he signed withThe Celebrity Agency seeking for new acting roles after being persuaded by his former manager, Ivy Low who's now the head of the management agency.^[6][7] It was reported that Xie will play a lonely wealthy tycoon Lin Huoyan withChen Hanwei in a 20 episode drama series tentative titledLast Hurrah with production starting in February 2025 and ending in May.^[8]

Xie kept a low-profile following his initial departure from the entertainment industry, refusing any requests to appear in public events or on screen, including an invitation by Singaporean directorAnthony Chen to star in the award-winning filmIlo Ilo.^[4]

Xie would later move toPermas Jaya,Malaysia, where he was ordained as aBuddhist monk in 2013.^[9] In 2014, Xie opened an animal welfare centre, Animal Paradise, inPekan Nanas, Johor.^[10]

In 2016, Singaporean media reported that Xie renounced his monkhood and had become a head chef in a vegetarian restaurant.^[11] Xie moved back to Singapore prior to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[6]

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• Singaporean male television actors
• Singaporean Buddhists
• Living people
• 1961 births
• Singaporean people of Hakka descent
• 20th-century Singaporean male actors
• 21st-century Singaporean male actors
• Singaporean monks
• Singaporean chefs
• Singaporean male film actors

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