Tiger Chen (; born 3 March 1975) is a Chinese martial artist and actor. Tiger Chen is Yuen Wo Ping's protege and Keanu Reeves's teacher and friend. He was also

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...

's stunt double.

Life

Early life

Tiger Chen was born on 3 March 1975 in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, where he studied the

Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

. By age 18, he enrolled into Sichuan Wushu Team. He won the National Youth Martial Arts Competition in China. At the age of 19, Tiger Chen went to the United States, where he lived in a small wooden shack. He said: "In China, at least you can practice kung fu and attend martial arts competitions, but in the United States, you will find that most of your time in washing the dishes and being a

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

." Tiger Chen became a student of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

martial artist Yuen Woo-ping in 2000s.

Film career

In 1998, Tiger Chen began his film career by holding a post on the fight choreography team as an assistant under Yuen in ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

'', a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

starring Keanu Reeves,

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000) for w ...

, Hugo Weaving and

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

. At the same time, he became best friends with Keanu Reeves. Chen also held the post of choreographer in '' Charlie's Angels'' (2000), '' Once in the Life'' (2000) and '' Kill Bill: Volume 1'' (2003). Tiger Chen had a minor role as a ronin in ''

The Matrix Reloaded ''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to '' The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Lau ...

'' (2003), the second film of the ''Matrix'' trilogy. In 2005, he appeared as a martial artist in '' House of Fury'' with Anthony Wong, Gillian Chung, Stephen Fung and

Charlene Choi Charlene Choi Tsoek-jin ( zh, t=蔡卓妍; born 22 November 1982) is a Hong Kong Canadian actress and singer. She is a member of Cantopop group Twins, along with Gillian Chung. Early life Choi was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ...

. In 2012, Tiger Chen played the lead role in '' Kung Fu Man'', alongside Vanessa Branch and Jiang Mengjie. After years in minor and supporting roles, Tiger Chen played the titular character in ''

Man of Tai Chi ''Man of Tai Chi'' is a 2013 Chinese-American martial arts film directed by and starring Keanu Reeves in his directorial debut and co-starring Tiger Chen, Iko Uwais, Karen Mok, and Simon Yam. A multilingual film featuring dialogue in Mandarin, ...

'', opposite the film's director Keanu Reeves,

Karen Joy Morris Karen Mok (born Karen Joy Morris (), 2 June 1970) is a Hong Kong pop diva who is one of the leading Asian pop singers and actresses with a career spanning three decades. She is the first female Hong Kong singer to win the Golden Melody Award and h ...

and Yam Tat-wah. In 2018, Tiger made a special appearance in the Malaysian military film '' PASKAL: The Movie'' as a Chinese UN Observer accompanying the Malaysian UN Observers during a mission in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. In 2019, Tiger co-starred with

Tony Jaa Tatchakorn Yeerum ( th, ทัชชกร ยีรัมย์, , ; formerly Phanom Yeerum ( th, พนม ยีรัมย์, ); born 5 February 1976), better known internationally as Tony Jaa and in Thailand as Jaa Phanom ( th, จา � ...

and Iko Uwais in the film '' Triple Threat''. He also has an uncredited cameo as a Triad assassin in the film '' John Wick 3: Parabellum''.

Works

Film

Awards

* Champion of National Youth Martial Arts Competition * All Around Champion of San Francisco International Martial Arts Tournament * Champion of National Karate (Men's -60 kg) * World Stunt Awards nominations for Matrix 2

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Tiger Male actors from Chengdu Living people Chinese martial artists Sportspeople from Chengdu Chinese expatriates in the United States Chinese male film actors Chinese male television actors 1975 births 21st-century Chinese male actors