Russell Wong
American actor (born 1963)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Russell Wong (Chinese: 王盛德; Jyutping: Wong4 Sing6 Dak1) is an American actor. 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, leading to his first film role in The Musical Singer (1985), directed by Dennis Yu.[1] His first English-language film was Tai-Pan (1986).[2][3][4]
Russell Wong | |
|---|---|
王盛德 | |
Russell Wong in 2009 | |
| Born | March 1, 1963 |
| Other names | Russell Jan Tak Wong |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Children | 1 |
He 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.[5][6] His breakthrough performance came after he starred opposite Jet Li in the action film Romeo Must Die (2000).[7] 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.[8][9]
Outside film and television, Wong 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).[10][11][12]
Early life and education
Wong was born in Troy, New York, to a Chinese-American father William S. Wong and Dutch-American mother Connie Van Yserloo (d. 2024).[13] Wong's father emigrated to the United States from Shandong Province, China.[13] His brother is actor Michael Wong.
Wong attended Santa Monica City College and trained to be a dancer.[14]
Personal life
Wong is trained in several martial arts, including Taekwondo, Shoji Ryu Karate, and Fu Jow Pai Kung fu.[15]
Russell has one daughter with dancer Eartha Robinson. His daughter, Eja Robinson-Wong, was born in 1988. In 2003, Wong married Hong Kong fashion designer Flora Cheong-Leen. The couple divorced in 2012.
Career
Wong is one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa with Chi Muoi Lo portraying Wago in the highly rated critically acclaimed Vanishing Son, first in a series of a made-for-television films followed by a 13-episode syndicated series. He has appeared in numerous films and series including Abel Ferrara's China Girl, New Jack City, The Joy Luck Club, Takedown, The Monkey King, Romeo Must Die, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.[15]
In 2014, Wong finished shooting a horror series entitled Grace which was shot in Singapore for HBO Asia, and also directed by Serangoon Road co-director Tony Tilse.[16]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Musical Singer | Russell | |
| 1986 | Tai-Pan | Gordon Chen | |
| 1987 | Gwai ma hau yuen | Mr. Wong | |
| China Girl | Yung Gan | ||
| 1989 | Eat a Bowl of Tea | Ben Loy | |
| 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 |
| The Joy Luck Club | Lin Xiao | ||
| 1994 | Zhong jin shu | Ken Chan | |
| 1998 | The Prophecy II | Danyeal | Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | Takedown | Tsutomi Shimomura | |
| Romeo Must Die | Kai | ||
| 2004 | Twisted | Lieutenant Tong | |
| 2005 | Inside Out | Frank | |
| 2006 | Undoing | Leon | |
| Honor | Ray | ||
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Ming Guo | |
| House of Wong | The Man | Short film | |
| Dim Sum Funeral | Alexander | ||
| 2009 | The Sanctuary | Patrick | Thai film |
| 2010 | Color Me Love | Zoe's Ex-husband | |
| 2011 | What Women Want | Peter | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| Miss Boundless | Yajin | Short film | |
| 2021 | Clifford the Big Red Dog | Mr. Yu |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Harry's Hong Kong | Sergeant Lee | TV movie |
| 1988 | C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf | TV movie | |
| The Equalizer | Narong Bansari | Episode: "Riding the Elephant" | |
| 1989 | 21 Jump Street | Locke | Episode: "The Dragon and the Angel" |
| Gideon Oliver | Li Song | Episode: "Tungs" | |
| 1994 | Vanishing Son | Jian-Wa | TV movie |
| Vanishing Son II | Jian-Wa | TV movie | |
| Vanishing Son III | Jian-Wa | TV movie | |
| 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 |
| Honolulu CRU | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| 2001 | The Monkey King | Monkey King | TV miniseries |
| 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" |
| Commander in Chief | Cabinet Member | Episode: "First Disaster" | |
| 2006 | Numb3rs | Jeremy Wang | Episode: "Undercurrents" |
| 2010 | Nikita | Victor Han | Episode: "Rough Trade" |
| 2012 | Hawaii Five-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" |
| Lethal Weapon | Stan | Episode: "Need to Know" | |
| 2019 | Supergirl | General Tan | Episode: "Suspicious Minds" |
| The Oath | 4 episodes | ||
| 2020 | Westworld | Brompton | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | The Brothers Sun | Byron Chien | Episode: "Country boy" |
| NCIS | Feng Zhao | Episode: "The Plan" | |
| High Potential | Officer Jean | Episode: "The Sauna at the End of the Stairs" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | True Crime: Streets of LA | Nick Kang | Voice Role[17] |
| 2007 | Stranglehold | Yung Gi | Voice Role[17] |