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Russell Wong () is an American actor. Born in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, Wong attended
Santa Monica City College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. The coll ...
while training to become a dancer. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to Hong Kong in 1983, where he learned Cantonese and martial arts, leading to his first film role in ''The Musical Singer'' (1985), directed by
Dennis Yu Dennis Yu Yun-kong (余允抗) is a Hong Kong film director active in the 1980s, and a crucial member of Hong Kong New Wave. He is most famous for directing horror movies Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fe ...
. His first English-language film was ''
Tai-Pan A taipan (,Andrew J. Moody, "Transmission Languages and Source Languages of Chinese Borrowings in English", ''American Speech'', Vol. 71, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 414–415. literally "top class"汉英词典 — ''A Chinese-English Dictionary ...
'' (1986). He went on to work with director
Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong-American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese-American filmmakers to gain a major foothold in Hollyw ...
in '' Eat a Bowl of Tea'' (1989) and '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993). He also had supporting roles in '' China Cry: A True Story'' (1990) and ''
New Jack City ''New Jack City'' is a 1991 American crime action film directed by Mario Van Peebles (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper, based on a story by Wright. The film stars Wesley Snipes, I ...
'' (1991). He landed the lead role in the TV series ''
Vanishing Son ''Vanishing Son'' is an American action television series that was part of Universal Television's Action Pack. Starting as a series of four television films in 1994, the full series of 13 episodes debuted in syndication on January 16, 1995. '' ...
'' (1994), which is regarded as one of the first American dramatic television series to feature an Asian lead. His breakthrough performance came after he starred opposite
Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean Martial arts, martial artist and actor. With a Jet Li filmography, film career spanning more than forty years, Li is re ...
in the action film ''
Romeo Must Die ''Romeo Must Die'' is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his directorial debut, and features fight choreography by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li, Aaliyah (in her film debut), Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, ...
'' (2000). He reunited with Li in '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' (2008), portraying General Ming Guo. Wong is credited with helping to change the way Asians are represented in American film and television. Outside film and television, Wong played the protagonist Nicholas Kang in the video game '' True Crime: Streets of LA'' (2003). He also lent his voice to the video game '' Stranglehold'' (2007).


Early life and education

Wong was born in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...
, to a Chinese-American father William S. Wong and Dutch-American mother Connie Van Yserloo (d. 2024). Wong's father emigrated to the United States from Shandong Province, China. His brother is actor Michael Wong. Wong attended Santa Monica City College and trained to be a dancer.


Personal life

Wong is trained in several martial arts, including
Taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...
, Shoji Ryu
Karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...
, and Fu Jow Pai
Kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...
. Russell has one daughter with dancer Eartha Robinson. His daughter, Eja Robinson-Wong, was born in 1988. In 2003, Wong Married Hong Kong Fashion designer Flora Cheong-Leen. The couple divorced in 2012.


Career

Wong is one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa with
Chi Muoi Lo Chi Muoi Lo (born October 31, 1976) is an actor, writer, and entrepreneur. He is classically trained and best known for starring in the ''Vanishing Son'' made-for-television eight-hour mini-series and syndicated television episodic series. As a wr ...
portraying Wago in the highly rated critically acclaimed ''
Vanishing Son ''Vanishing Son'' is an American action television series that was part of Universal Television's Action Pack. Starting as a series of four television films in 1994, the full series of 13 episodes debuted in syndication on January 16, 1995. '' ...
,'' first in a series of a made-for-television films followed by a 13-episode syndicated series. He has appeared in numerous films and series including
Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (; born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use and redefinition of neo-noir imagery. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best ...
's '' China Girl,
New Jack City ''New Jack City'' is a 1991 American crime action film directed by Mario Van Peebles (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper, based on a story by Wright. The film stars Wesley Snipes, I ...
, The Joy Luck Club, Takedown, The Monkey King,
Romeo Must Die ''Romeo Must Die'' is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his directorial debut, and features fight choreography by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li, Aaliyah (in her film debut), Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong, ...
, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.'' In 2014, Wong finished shooting a horror series entitled ''Grace'' which was shot in Singapore for
HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, headquartered in Singapore. Originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, it was rebranded on 1 June 1995 to its current name upon Home Box Office, Inc. purchase. The Singapore-based broadcast networ ...
, and also directed by ''
Serangoon Road ''Serangoon Road'' is an Australian-Singaporean drama television series that premiered on 22 September 2013 on ABC and HBO Asia. It is a detective noir drama set in Singapore in the mid-1960s. The series takes its name from the eponymous roa ...
'' co-director
Tony Tilse Tony Tilse is an Australian television director. He won the Australian Directors' Guild Award for best direction of a TV drama series (periodical) and TV mini-series for '' Underbelly'' in 2008. Tilse also directed '' The Postcard Bandit'', and ' ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Video games


References


External links

*
UCLA Asia Pacific Arts Interview
*
Starpulse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Russell Living people American male film actors American people of Dutch descent American people of French descent American male taekwondo practitioners American male karateka American wushu practitioners American male actors of Chinese descent American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Actors from Troy, New York Santa Monica College alumni American expatriates in Hong Kong 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Year of birth missing (living people)