Cliff Ming-Si Chen, better known as Ming Chen, is an actor,

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

er,

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

personality, and

webmaster A webmaster is a person responsible for maintaining one or more websites. The title may refer to web architects, web developers, site authors, website administrators, website owners, website coordinators, or website publishers. The duties of ...

associated with

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...

. He co-hosts the ''I Sell Comics!'' and ''Ming & Mike Show'' podcasts with

Mike Zapcic Michael Zapcic, often referred to as Mike Zapcic or Chief, is a podcaster and cast member of the AMC reality TV show '' Comic Book Men'' with Kevin Smith. Early life Inspired by Dr. Seuss books at age three, Zapcic later became interested in co ...

and also starred in the AMC reality series ''

Comic Book Men ''Comic Book Men'' is an American reality television series which aired on the AMC network from 2012 to 2018. It is set at Kevin Smith's comic book shop, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, in Red Bank, New Jersey. Production history Filmmaker K ...

''.

Early life

Ming Chen was born in Ohio to parents born in China, but raised in Taiwan. The family frequently moved due his father being an upstart engineer, but spent significant time in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approx ...

and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Chen attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

(class of 1996), graduated with a degree in communications, and he at one point also worked at a video shop.

Career

Chen became involved with

after making a

fansite A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan or devotee about a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon. Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, ...

dedicated to the movie ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and adminis ...

'' in 1996. Smith asked Chen to build the

View Askew Productions View Askew Productions is an American film and television production company founded by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in 1994. Actors Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, ...

website. Chen served as an extra in the movie ''

Dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

''. After working around the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area, and

LivePlanet LivePlanet was a production company founded in 2000, and was known for television and new media platforms. History It was created by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Sean Bailey. Affleck and Damon ended their film production deal in late ...

for two years, he joined Kevin Smith's company in 2002. Chen became the full-time webmaster of View Askew after moving to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. One of the oddest requests from Kevin Smith has been to drive eight hours and deliver a copy of ''

Red State Starting with the 2000 United States presidential election, the terms "red state" and "blue state" have referred to U.S. states whose voters vote predominantly for one party — the Republican Party in red states and the Democratic Party in b ...

'' to a critic from the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

. Chen has participated in several podcasts for SModcast Internet Radio including ''

Tell 'Em Steve-Dave! ''Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!'', or simply ''TESD'', is an American comedy podcast, featured previously on the SModcast Podcast Network. It is hosted by View Askew Productions regulars and close friends of Kevin Smith: Bryan Johnson and Walt Flanagan ...

'', ''Puck Nuts'', and co-hosts ''I Sell Comics!'' with Mike Zapcic. In 2012, he began starring with co-workers from

Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash (sometimes shortened to simply The StashMcLauchlin, Jim (June 1999). "Comic 'Clerks'", '' Wizard'' #94. pp. 30 - 33) is a comic book store owned by filmmaker Kevin Smith, and named after the fictional duo portray ...

including Kevin Smith,

Walt Flanagan Walter Flanagan (born October 23, 1967) is a former comic book store manager, reality television personality, podcaster, and comic book artist. Flanagan is a long-time friend of Kevin Smith, and (according to Smith's book ''Silent Bob Speaks'') ...

, Mike Zapcic, and Bryan Johnson on ''

''. Ming is often made fun of as part of his role on ''Comic Book Men'', due to his long friendships with Bryan and Walt. Comic Book Men would be cancelled after seven seasons in 2018. Chen partnered with

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San Fra ...

and others to create Coral Sword: Coffee, Comics & Games in Houston, Texas, which opened in February 2018. Chen partnered with

to open A Shared Universe PodcaStudio in 2018, with a second location opening in 2020.

Personal life

Chen is married to Debbie and has two children. His favorite baseball team is the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. Two of his favorite comic books include Ex Machina and

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...

. Chen's favorite book as a kid was Avengers #214. On Comic Book Men, Chen was able to purchase the USS Flagg, a toy his parents could not afford. He has also participated in several

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair di ...

s. Chen also does work for two non-profits, Street Poets Inc. and The Kenny Gordon Foundation. Chen joined The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County as a board member in 2021.

Filmography

*''

'' (1999) (uncredited) as Club Patron *''

Big Helium Dog ''Big Helium Dog'' is a 1999 comedy film. It is produced by Kevin Smith's View Askew production company and also features the Broken Lizard comedy troupe in starring ( Kevin Heffernan) and supporting (Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, and Erik Stol ...

'' (1999) *''

Vulgar Vulgar is a Latin word meaning "common" or "pertaining to ordinary people." Language * Vulgar or common language, the vernacular speech of a region or a people * Language use characterised by vulgarity, see Vulgarism and Other uses *A vul ...

'' (2000) *''

Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! ''Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie!'' is a 2013 American adult animated comedy film written by Kevin Smith, directed (and co-animated) by Steve Stark, and produced by Jason Mewes and Jordan Monsanto. The film's script was adapted from ...

'' (2013) (voice) as Shower Bully 1 *''

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot ''Jay and Silent Bob Reboot'' is a 2019 American satirical buddy stoner comedy film written, directed, edited by, and starring Kevin Smith. Referring to his 2001 comedy ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'', Smith has described the film as a remake/ ...

'' (2019) as himself

Television

* ''

'' (2012–2018) as himself

References

External links

*
Ming Chen
on the

View Askew View Askew Productions is an American film and television production company founded by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in 1994. Actors Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Matt Damon, Chris Rock, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Bria ...

site
I Sell Comics! official site

AMC official Comic Book Men site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Ming Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from New Jersey American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male actors of Chinese descent American male actors of Taiwanese descent University of Michigan alumni 1974 births Participants in American reality television series