Russell Wong

This article is about the actor. For the Singaporean photographer, see Russel Wong.
Russell Wong
王盛德
Russell Wong in 2009
BornMarch 1, 1963
Troy, New York
Other namesRussell Jan Tak Wong
Occupation(s)Actor, martial artist

Russell Wong (Chinese: 王盛德; Jyutping: Wong4 Sing6 Dak1) is an American actor and martial artist best known for his roles in various films and television series. Born in New York, Wong attended Santa 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]

He appeared in the film Tai-Pan (1986), and went on to work with director Wayne Wang in Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989) and The Joy Luck Club (1993). He also had supporting roles in China Cry: A True Story (1990) and New Jack City (1991). He landed the lead role in the TV series Vanishing 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 opposite Jet Li in Romeo Must Die (2000).[5] He reunited with Li in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), portraying General Ming 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 game True Crime: Streets of LA (2003). He also lent his voice to the video game Stranglehold (2007).[8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Actor Russell Wong: Scene Stealer 1/7 | Asian American Personalities | GoldSea". goldsea.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  2. ^ "Heartthrob Is Breaking Barriers / Russell Wong wins TV lead as action hero". Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  3. ^ 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. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  4. ^ 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. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  5. ^ "Russell Wong | Martial Arts & Action Entertainment". 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  6. ^ "No Oscars invite for us back then, The Joy Luck Club actor says". South China Morning Post. 2019-05-10. Retrieved 2024-10-11.
  7. ^ https://administration.ultra-shop.com/stories10/russell-wong-actor.html
  8. ^ Boulding, Aaron (December 17, 2002). "True Crime: Streets of LA - First Look". IGN. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  9. ^ Torres, Ricardo (December 17, 2002). "True Crime: Streets of LA impressions". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  10. ^ "Midway Unveils Hollywood Voices For Stranglehold". www.gamedeveloper.com. Retrieved 2024-10-11.