Russell Wong (Chinese:王盛德;Jyutping:Wong4 Sing6 Dak1) is an American actor andmartial artist best known for his roles in various films and television series. Born in New York, Wong attendedSanta Monica City College while training to become a dancer. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to Hong Kong in 1983, where he learned Cantonese and martial arts.[1][2]
Russell Wong | |
|---|---|
王盛德 | |
 Russell Wong in 2009 | |
| Born | March 1, 1963 Troy, New York |
| Other names | Russell Jan Tak Wong |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, martial artist |
He appeared in the filmTai-Pan (1986), and went on to work with directorWayne Wang inEat a Bowl of Tea (1989) andThe Joy Luck Club (1993). He also had supporting roles inChina Cry: A True Story (1990) andNew Jack City (1991). He landed the lead role in the TV seriesVanishing Son (1994), which is regarded as one of the first American dramatic television series to feature an Asian lead.[3][4] His breakthrough performance came after he starred oppositeJet Li inRomeo Must Die (2000).[5] He reunited with Li inThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), portraying GeneralMing Guo. Wong is credited with helping to change the way Asians are represented in American film and television.[6][7]
Outside film and television, he played the protagonist Nicholas Kang in the video gameTrue Crime: Streets of LA (2003). He also lent his voice to the video gameStranglehold (2007).[8][9][10]
Early life and education
editWong attended Santa Monica City College and trained to be a dancer.[11]
Personal life
editWong was born to a Chinese-American father William Wong and Dutch-American mother Connie Van Yserloo (d. 2024). TheSgt. Mark A. Rademacher Memorial Park is named in honor of his maternal cousin who died in theInvasion of Grenada.
In 2003, Wong Married Hong Kong Fashion designerFlora Cheong-Leen. The couple divorced in 2012.
Wong is trained in the martial arts, particularlytaekwondo, shoji ryukarate, and fu jow paikung fu.[12]
Career
editWong is one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa withChi Muoi Lo portraying Wago in the highly rated critically acclaimedVanishing Son, first in a series of amade-for-television films followed by a 13-episode syndicated series. He has appeared in numerous films and series includingAbel Ferrara'sChina Girl,New Jack City,The Joy Luck Club,Takedown,The Monkey King,Romeo Must Die, andThe Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.[12]
In 2014, Wong finished shooting a horror series entitledGrace which was shot in Singapore forHBO Asia, and also directed bySerangoon Road co-directorTony Tilse.[13]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Musical Singer | Russell | |
| 1986 | Tai-Pan | Gordon Chen | |
| 1987 | Gwai ma hau yuen | Mr. Wong | |
| 1987 | China Girl | Yung Gan | |
| 1989 | Eat a Bowl of Tea | Ben Loy | |
| 1989 | China White | Bobby Chow | |
| 1990 | China Cry | Lam Cheng Shen | |
| 1991 | New Jack City | Park | |
| 1992 | Xia ri qing ren | Zeniger | |
| 1993 | Geoffrey Beene 30 | Man | Short film |
| 1993 | The Joy Luck Club | Lin Xiao | |
| 1994 | Zhong jin shu | Ken Chan | |
| 1998 | The Prophecy II | Danyeal | Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | Takedown | Tsutomi Shimomura | |
| 2000 | Romeo Must Die | Kai | |
| 2004 | Twisted | Lieutenant Tong | |
| 2005 | Inside Out | Frank | |
| 2006 | Undoing | Leon | |
| 2006 | Honor | Ray | |
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Ming Guo | |
| 2008 | House of Wong | The Man | Short film |
| 2008 | Dim Sum Funeral | Alexander | |
| 2009 | The Sanctuary | Patrick | Thai film |
| 2010 | Color Me Love | Zoe's Ex-husband | |
| 2011 | What Women Want | Peter | |
| 2011 | Snow Flower and the Secret Fan | Bank CEO | |
| 2013 | The Hong Kong Affair | Edward Lim | |
| 2014 | Light from the Dark Room | Li Cheung | |
| 2016 | Lost in the Pacific | Gary Gao | |
| 2016 | Contract to Kill | Matthew Sharp | Credited as "Russel Wong" |
| 2017 | The Jade Pendant | Mr. Wong | |
| 2018 | Forever Young | General | |
| 2019 | Escape Plan: The Extractors | Wu Zhang | |
| 2019 | Miss Boundless | Yajin | Short film |
| 2021 | Clifford the Big Red Dog | Mr Yu |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Harry's Hong Kong | Sergeant Lee | TV movie |
| 1988 | C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf | TV movie | |
| 1988 | The Equalizer | Narong Bansari | Episode: "Riding the Elephant" |
| 1989 | 21 Jump Street | Locke | Episode: "The Dragon and the Angel" |
| 1989 | Gideon Oliver | Li Song | Episode: "Tungs" |
| 1994 | Vanishing Son | Jian-Wa | TV movie |
| 1994 | Vanishing Son II | Jian-Wa | TV movie |
| 1994 | Vanishing Son III | Jian-Wa | TV movie |
| 1994 | Vanishing Son IV | Jian-Wa | TV movie |
| 1995 | Vanishing Son | Jian-Wa | 13 episodes |
| 1997 | Hawaii Five-O | Nick Wong | Unaired Pilot |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | George | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Honolulu CRU | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2001 | The Monkey King | Monkey King | TV miniseries |
| 2001 | The Tracker | Rick Tsung | TV movie |
| 2003 | Black Sash | Tom Chang | 8 episodes |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Lieutenant Arthur Chen | Episode: "No Humans Involved" |
| 2005 | Just Legal | District Attorney | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2005 | Commander in Chief | Cabinet Member | Episode: "First Disaster" |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Jeremy Wang | Episode: "Undercurrents" |
| 2010 | Nikita | Victor Han | Episode: "Rough Trade" |
| 2012 | Hawaii 5-0 | Kong Liang | Episode: "Ohuna" |
| 2013 | Serangoon Road | Winston | Episode: "#1.10" |
| 2014 | Grace | Roy Chan | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | NCIS: New Orleans | Cam Lin | Episode: "The Walking Dead" |
| 2017 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Inspector Jin | Episode: "Type A" |
| 2018 | Lucifer | Vincent Green | Episode: "High School Poppycock" |
| 2018 | Lethal Weapon | Stan | Episode: "Need to Know" |
| 2019 | Supergirl | General Tan | Episode: "Suspicious Minds" |
| 2019 | The Oath | 4 episodes | |
| 2020 | Westworld | Brompton | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | The Brothers Sun | Byron Chien | Episode: "Country boy" |
| 2024 | NCIS | Feng Zhao | Episode: "The Plan" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | True Crime: Streets of LA | Nick Kang | Voice Role[14] |
| 2007 | Stranglehold | Yung Gi | Voice Role |
References
edit- ^"Actor Russell Wong: Scene Stealer 1/7 | Asian American Personalities | GoldSea".goldsea.com. Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^"Heartthrob Is Breaking Barriers / Russell Wong wins TV lead as action hero". Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^Chan, Boon (2014-09-03)."Actor Russell Wong drawn to HBO Asia series Grace because "martial arts genre is not working so well" at his age".The Straits Times.ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^Yip, Jeff (1995-03-25)."A Heroic Leading Role for One Asian 'Son' : Television: Russell Wong, star of 'Vanishing Son,' knows he's breaking ground and stereotypes. His character's 'got a lot of energy and sex appeal.'".Los Angeles Times. Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^"Russell Wong | Martial Arts & Action Entertainment". 2010-03-22. Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^"No Oscars invite for us back then, The Joy Luck Club actor says".South China Morning Post. 2019-05-10. Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^https://administration.ultra-shop.com/stories10/russell-wong-actor.html
- ^Boulding, Aaron (December 17, 2002)."True Crime: Streets of LA - First Look".IGN.Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. RetrievedMay 8, 2015.
- ^Torres, Ricardo (December 17, 2002)."True Crime: Streets of LA impressions".GameSpot.Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. RetrievedMay 8, 2015.
- ^"Midway Unveils Hollywood Voices For Stranglehold".www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved2024-10-11.
- ^"Actor Russell Wong: Scene Stealer 1/7 | Asian American Personalities | GoldSea".goldsea.com. Retrieved2023-09-14.
- ^abEntertainment, Martial Arts (2010-03-22)."Russell Wong".Martial Arts & Action Entertainment. Retrieved2023-09-14.
- ^Frater, Patrick (2014-03-07)."'Grace' Horror Series Underway at HBO Asia".Variety. Retrieved2023-11-22.
- ^"Russell Wong (visual voices guide)".Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information). Retrieved28 April 2021.