Cha Shao-kwong (born 15 September 1961), professionally known as Xie Shaoguang, is a

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

an actor, chef and former monk best known for acting in many Chinese-language television series produced by MediaCorp Channel 8. He was prominently a full-time

Mediacorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state media, state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. ...

artiste from 1989 to 2005. He re-signed with MediaCorp on 5 September 2024, citing possible future projects. Widely regarded as one of Singapore's best actors, Xie received five Star Awards for Best Actor, a record that he held for 15 years for the most wins in that category before being surpassed by Chen Hanwei in 2019.

Career

Since the start of his acting career in 1989 in the television series ''A Mother's Love'' (), Xie has received numerous accolades, including winning the Star Awards ''Best Actor'' award five times and the ''Best Supporting Actor'' award twice since the ceremony's inception in 1994. One of his most notable roles is the Chinese folk deity Ji Gong in the 1997 television series '' The Legends of Jigong''. In 2005, Xie formalised his plans to retire from the entertainment industry when he decided not to renew his contract which expired in September the same year, although his intention to quit has been made known years earlier. He said that after retirement, he would be living in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, where he planned to open a refuge for stray dogs and cats. His last screen appearance was in the television series '' Baby Blues'', which ended its run on 9 September 2005. After a 12-year hiatus, Xie made a short official media appearance on 14 October 2017 to conduct acting classes for younger actors. Xie has stated he would return to acting, if there is a role that can persuade him to do so. In 2024, he signed with The Celebrity Agency seeking for new acting roles after being persuaded by his former manager, Ivy Low who's now the head of the management agency. It was reported that Xie will play a lonely wealthy tycoon Lin Huoyan with Chen Hanwei in a 20 episode drama series tentative titled ''Last Hurrah'' with production starting in February 2025 and ending in May.

Personal life

Xie kept a low-profile following his initial departure from the entertainment industry, refusing any requests to appear in public events or on screen, including an invitation by Singaporean director Anthony Chen to star in the award-winning film Ilo Ilo. Xie would later move to Permas Jaya,

, where he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 2013. In 2014, Xie opened an animal welfare centre, Animal Paradise, in Pekan Nanas, Johor. In 2016, Singaporean media reported that Xie renounced his monkhood and had become a head chef in a vegetarian restaurant. Xie moved back to Singapore prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Filmography

Television series

Film

Variety show hosting

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Celeb Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xie, Shaoguang Singaporean male television actors Singaporean Buddhists Living people 1961 births Singaporean people of Hakka descent 20th-century Singaporean male actors 21st-century Singaporean male actors Singaporean monks Singaporean chefs Singaporean male film actors