Craig Robert Fong is an Australian actor.

Early life and education

Fong was born in

Carnarvon, Western Australia Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately north of Perth, in Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningalo ...

and grew up in a fairly isolated outback environment. At the age of 15 he moved to

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

to continue his studies at

Rossmoyne Senior High School Rossmoyne Senior High School is a public co-educational high day school in the City of Melville, located on Keith Road, Bull Creek, a southern riverside suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1968, the school provides education for ...

. As there were no drama classes at the school, he studied photography, with the intention of eventually becoming a

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...

. After high school, Fong enrolled at the

Central Institute of Technology Central Institute of Technology was a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institution based in Perth, Western Australia until 2016 when it became a part of North Metropolitan TAFE. It was the equal oldest post-secondary educational institut ...

in Perth, majoring in

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

and animation in a three-year course. During this time, he won an award for Best Television Commercial, and also made a short film which won the leading actor Matt Thompson Best Male Actor at the 1991 Film and Television Institute (FTI) Awards in

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. In 1992 Fong's film was nominated for Best Documentary at the FTI Awards. He was then cast in his first

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for Western Australian Tourism.

Career

Fong moved Sydney to pursue an acting career. He was an extra on '' Thank God He Met Lizzie'' and ''Hart to Hart Down Under'', and was featured in a

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later ...

music video, ''

Instinct Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a ...

''. He then travelled to

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, borde ...

, where he did some

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

ling, and then

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 ...

. There he got a part in the Hollywood movie ''

Entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent prov ...

'', starring

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Known for her versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed ...

and

Sean Connery Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...

. In 1999 Fong was cast in his first lead role in an independent film ''

Spinning Gasing Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' portraying Harry, a young musician who is caught between culture, religion and love. Fong returned to Singapore for two years, to work in

telemovie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s with longtime friend and director

Kabir Bhatia Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, ...

, in the films ''On the Wings of Butterflies'' (playing a Japanese soldier who falls in love with a local Chinese Singaporean girl during World War II), and ''Full Circle''. Returning to Perth, Fong met playwright John Aitken, and was cast in various roles on stage. For his role as a

doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppel ...

in ''Lost is my Quiet'', he was awarded Best Supporting Actor at the 8th Annual Equity Guild Awards in October 2007, in Western Australia. Also in 2007, he played the character Bao Tang in the Australian crime thriller film, '' Without Warrant''. In June 2009, Fong was cast in the Malaysian epic feature film ''

Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa ( Jawi: حكاية مروڠ مهاوڠسا ), alternatively spelt Hikayat Marong Mahawangsa and also known as the Kedah Annals, is a Malay literary work that gives a romantic account of the history and tales relating ...

'' (also known internationally as '' The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines'', and in the television series Wadi Unung, for

Astro Prima Astro Prima is a Malaysian pay television channel owned by Astro, launched on 29 September 2003. It broadcasts Malay dramas, documentaries and classic movies. Primawara Slot * ''Jihad Iskandar'' * ''Perempuan Dalam Pusungan'' * ''Mira Sofe ...

. He then played Japanese Lieutenant Tanaka. The

Astro Citra Astro Citra is a 24-hour Malay language version of HBO Asia, showing the local and Asian movies. The channel began broadcasting on 1 June 2009, replacing Astro Kirana (Channel 122) which ceased its broadcasting on 18 May 2009 due to low view ...

miniseries, directed by

, based on the Japanese occupation of South-East Asia, particularly the

Sandakan Death Marches The Sandakan Death Marches were a series of forced marches in Borneo from Sandakan to Ranau which resulted in the deaths of 2,434 Allied prisoners of war held captive by the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II at the ...

. He has acted many European films, including ''

A World Beyond ''Tomorrowland'' (also known as ''Project T'' in some regions and subtitled ''A World Beyond'' in some other regions) is a 2015 American science fiction film directed by Brad Bird, with a screenplay by Bird and Damon Lindelof, based on a sto ...

'' (2013), and the German film about endangered

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the gen ...

s '' Lost in Borneo'' (2012), starring

Hannes Jaenicke Hannes Jaenicke (born 26 February 1960 in Frankfurt am Main) is a German actor, voice actor, audiobook narrator, and author. He has played in various television-programs and movies, including '' Lost Treasure''. After he was born, Jaenicke and hi ...

and Mirjam Weichselbraun. Fong played Andy Chow in ''The Hong Kong Affair'' (2013) with German actress Veronica Ferres, who was also co-producer. In November 2011, Fong was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for ''The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines'' at the

Anugerah Skrin Anugerah (English: ''Blessing'') is an Indonesian television soap opera with 473 episodes. It was produced by SinemArt and directed by Leo Sutanto. Plot The show tells the story of Nabila, a beautiful girl who is the best student at her univer ...

in Malaysia. In 2013 Fong teamed up once again with writer and director

on '' Gila Baby'' and starred in the Malaysian drama film '' Cuak''. In March 2013, he appeared in ''

Das Traumschiff ' ("The Dream Ship") is a German television drama series by ZDF. The series, about a cruise ship that travels to places around the world, debuted in 1981 and became one of the most-watched television shows in Germany. A total of 83 episodes hav ...

'', one of Germany's long-running television series, filmed in and around

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

and

Langkawi Langkawi, officially known by its sobriquet Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah ( ms, Langkawi Permata Kedah ), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) locat ...

, playing the character Beto. Fong played the role of Benny in '' The Heights'' by Matchbox Pictures for

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

and the US NBC network. In January 2020, filming began for the feature film '' Talbis Iblis'' (''The Devil's Deception''), directed by

. Fong had a role in the 2022 Australian series, '' Mystery Road: Origin'', directed by Dylan River and starring Mark Coles Smith for Bunya Productions.

Filmography

Film

Television

Publications

References

External links

* *
Stephen dari Hang Tuah ke Merong Mahawangsa
9 June 2009
"Fong wings it"
''The Sunday Times'', 18 September 2005
"The Cultivation Of Craig Fong"
5 January 2012 * https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-03/actor-craig-fong-continued-ties-home-town-carnarvon/103094314 * https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/storystream/from-the-outback-to-hollywood/103165822 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fong, Craig 1970 births Living people Australian people of Chinese descent Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Male actors from Western Australia 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors People from Carnarvon, Western Australia