Barney Cheng (; born February 1, 1971) is a Taiwanese-American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, director, writer and producer.

Early life and education

Cheng was born in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

, Taiwan. His family

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the United States when he was 12 years old and he grew up in

Brea, California Brea (; ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. The population as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 47,325. It is southeast of Los Angeles. Brea is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The city ...

. He speaks

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

and

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien ( , ), or simply Taiwanese, also known as Taigi ( zh, c=臺語, tl=Tâi-gí), Taiwanese Southern Min ( zh, c=臺灣閩南語, tl=Tâi-uân Bân-lâm-gí), Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively ...

fluently. After graduating from

Brea Olinda High School Brea Olinda High School is a 9th–12th grade public high school located in Brea, California. Established in 1927, the school was originally located across the street from the Brea Mall. In 1989, the school moved to its current location on th ...

, Cheng attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(B.A.) in political science in 1993. His focus was initially on a career in law, and he studied political philosophy at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

for his junior year abroad in England. While at Oxford, he was attracted to the West End

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

and spent nights and weekends in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

In 1994, Cheng moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. He was featured in two

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

plays by

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

Prince Gomolvilas, ''Donut Holes in Orbit'' and ''Big Hunk o’ Burnin’ Love,'' and was a big hit with the audience. He appeared in a variety of stage and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

roles, including

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

’s Puck,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

’s political adviser on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' and

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

’s voice on ''

Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...

''. After four

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

appearances, Cheng co-starred opposite

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

in ''

Hollywood Ending ''Hollywood Ending'' is a 2002 American comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, who also plays the principal character. It tells the story of a once-famous film director who suffers hysterical blindness due to the intense pressure of ...

''. Cheng played Chou, a

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

for a washed-up movie

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, played by Allen. Although the movie received a mixed reception from

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

, they loved Cheng's performance. The ''New York Times'' described Cheng's comedic timing as "surgically precise." The ''Orange County Register'' raved that Cheng "steals every scene he's in." Cheng accompanied Allen to promote the film and to open the 55th Cannes Film Festival. In addition to acting, Cheng works as a director, writer and producer. His award-winning films have collectively screened in over 80 film festivals worldwide. Most recently, his film ''To Comfort You'', starring Golden Globe Winner Susan Blakely and Pauley Perrette of NCIS, won Best Drama and Best Film at the 2010 Beverly Hills Shorts Festival. Cheng directed ''Steps'' for Banana Republic and Vanity Fair as part of his Film Independent Project:Involve fellowship. ''Steps'' won international awards from Poland's KAN Film Festival, Ukraine's International Rights Film Festival, UK's Black Film Festival and Malta's Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival. MTV Networks acquired Cheng's film ''The Red Dress'' for its 2009-2010 Logo programming. Prior to that, Cheng directed ''Mrs. C'', a political satire starring Niecy Nash, to help the Obama campaign during the 2008 presidential primary. His first screenplay ''Dien's Playground'' advanced to the final stage of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Cheng lives in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...

, and delivers every Friday for Project Angel Food. He is openly gay.

Filmography

References

External links

Official Site of Barney Cheng
*
''Slant Magazine'' - Barney Cheng: Interview With a Scene-Stealer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Barney 1971 births Living people American male stage actors American male television actors American male film actors American gay actors American LGBTQ people of Asian descent Male actors from California Male actors from Taipei Stanford University alumni Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Taiwanese gay actors 21st-century Taiwanese LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Brea Olinda High School alumni