Zen Chong (; born on 15 August 1978) is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n actor who is based in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and contracted artiste under

MediaCorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

Career

Chong joined

in 2001 after finishing third in that year's Malaysian edition of

Star Search Singapore ''Star Search'' () is a television show from 1988 to 2019 organised by MediaCorp to scout for Chinese language-speaking acting talent. History Star Search started out as a Singapore local talent show, restricted to residents of Singapore. Aft ...

. One of his first major roles was in the 2003 sitcom ''

Lobang King Lobang King (我是Lobang King) is a Singaporean comedy drama which aired on Channel 8 in 2003. It is a spin-off of the popular long-running series ''Don't Worry, Be Happy'' (敢敢做个开心人), which had just ended its sixth and final season ...

'' where he was cast alongside veteran artistes

Chew Chor Meng Chew Chor Meng (born 20 November 1968), better known as Zhou Chuming, is a Singaporean actor. He is one of the first batch of actors to receive the All-Time Favourite Artiste award with Zoe Tay & Li Nanxing. Career Chew started his career ...

Huang Wenyong Huang Wenyong (25 July 1952 – 20 April 2013) was a Malaysia-born Singaporean actor and former teacher of Chinese descent. Local media and colleagues referred to him as "Ah Ge" (senior actor) due to his status. Huang died at the Singapo ...

and Irene Ang as the smooth-talking employee of Huang's character. Chong is known for portraying juvenile " ah beng" characters,

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

es and

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

s. He shot to fame for his role as a main antagonist in the hit

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

The Little Nyonya ''The Little Nyonya'' ( zh, c= ) is a 2008 drama serial on Singapore's free-to-air MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It stars Jeanette Aw, Qi Yuwu, Dai Xiangyu, Lin Meijiao, Pan Lingling, Cynthia Koh, Pierre Png, Joanne Peh, Desmond Sim, Eelyn K ...

''. Although initially a replacement for

Andrew Seow Andrew Seow () is a Singaporean actor, celebrity, model and media personality. Seow was a model in Singapore and Asia before becoming an actor on local television. He is best known for his role as Gary Tay as the fiery tempered eldest son in th ...

, he was praised for his convincing portrayal of antagonist Robert Zhang and won a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2009 Star Awards, his first ever awards nomination. He was given his first lead role in the 2008 co-production '' The Thin Line''.

Personal life

A native of the " New Villages" in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, Chong studied graphic design and worked at an advertising agency prior to joining

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

Malaysia. He married his long-time girlfriend Geline in January 2011. Guests at the ceremony included fellow MediaCorp artistes Darren Lim, Christopher Lee, Brandon Wong,

Alan Tern Alan Tern Yoke Cher (, born 31 March 1976) is a Singaporean actor. He was a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 2001 to 2011. Career Tern was a finalist in the 2001 Star Search Singapore, and he joined MediaCorp after the competition. He made hi ...

and

Zhang Yaodong Zhang Yaodong (, born Teoh Yeow Tong on 17 December 1977) is a Malaysian actor based in Singapore. Career Zhang entered the entertainment industry after finishing first runner-up in the Malaysian edition of talent-search contest Star Search ...

. In 2012, it was revealed during the release of ''The Quarters'' that Chong changed his a character in his Chinese name after consulting with a fortune teller. His English name was changed as well, from Zzen Chong to Zen Chong.

Filmography

Television

Variety shows

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Profile
on xin.msn.com
Profile
on MediaCorp TV {{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Zen Living people 1978 births Malaysian male actors Singaporean male television actors Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Cantonese descent People from Kuala Lumpur