Edmund Chen

Last updated

Edmund Chen
Born (1961-02-04) 4 February 1961 (age 63)
Nationality Singaporean
Occupations
  • Actor
  • host
  • illustrator
Years active1987–present
Spouse
(m. 1989)
Children
FamilyEric Chen (brother)
Loretta Chen (sister)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 陳之財
Simplified Chinese 陈之财
Hanyu Pinyin Chén Zhīcái

Edmund Chen (born 4 February 1961) [1] is a Singaporean former actor and artist. He began his career in 1987 and rose to become one of Singapore's most prominent and popular actors during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Contents

Career

Chen entered the entertainment industry after completing the SBC (predecessor of MediaCorp) 7th drama training course in 1987. [2] He starred in several high-profile dramas such as sci-fi drama series Star Maiden, Air Force and police thriller Patrol , where he met and later married co-star Xiang Yun. During the late 1990s he temporarily left showbiz for several years to concentrate on other projects. After returning to MediaCorp his popularity soared and he won the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award seven consecutive times. During the Star Awards 2007 25th anniversary special, he and Ivy Lee, who played his on-screen partner many times, were named the Top 5 Favourite On-screen Couples for their roles as husband and wife in Double Happiness . He left MediaCorp at the end of 2007 for family reasons but made a brief return to the screens as a guest star in Channel 5 comedy Calefare and the second season of Channel U production Perfect Cut. Besides acting, he has also presented and hosted shows ranging from sports events to variety shows to charity galas.

In 2003, Chen acted in a Hong Kong film, Turn Left, Turn Right as Dr Hu, and in 2008, acted as the father of Chun-Li in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li . [3] [4]

Chen directed his first feature film Echoing Love (爱情六重奏), which consists of six shorts directed by six different people and the cast includes Erica Lee, Alaric Tay, Vincent Ng, Nathaniel Ho and his wife Xiang Yun. It was screened at the 24th Singapore International Film Festival in 2011, where it won a Special Achievement Award at the Silver Screen Awards. [5]

Other work

Chen left the entertainment industry in 2007 and he began writing and illustrating Chinese language children's books. Two of his titles Dino Rulez! (欢迎来到我们的世界) and Little Otters To The Rescue! (水獭宝宝救爸爸) have been selected by the National Arts Council for its yearly catalogue. [6]

Endorsements

Chen functions as a brand ambassador and spokesman for many firms and products, including Beijing 101 Hair Consultants , Mitsubishi Electric, Chien Chi Tow, G- Spa, Donut Empire and KKC Property in Singapore and throughout the Asian region.

Personal life

Chen is the eldest of three children. His younger brother Eric manages an events management company, while his younger sister is the theatre director and entrepreneur Loretta Chen. [7] [ better source needed ] [8]

Chen married actress Xiang Yun in 1989 after meeting on the sets of Patrol and they have two children; a daughter Yixin and a son Chen Xi. [9]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1998Yellow Wedding
Eternal Love
Super Cop
1999 Where Got Problem? Chen
Ghostories
2002Sharpened Pencil
The Eye Dr Lo
2003 Turn Left, Turn Right Dr Wu
2007 Saigon Eclipse
2008 Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Xiang
2009Liliang

Television series

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
1987Sunshine After Rain 雨过天晴Chen Junjie
Moving On 变迁Ah Wen
1988Star Maiden 飞越银河Jin Guixiang
Airforce Gan Qifeng
The Last Applause 舞榭歌台Guo Xiaoting (Qihua)
Mystery – Piano 迷离夜 之《琴》Tan Jialun
1989When Hearts Touch 似水柔情Xu Daimei
Fortune Hunters 钻石人生Guo Juncheng
Patrol Luo Yifeng
Turn of the Tide 浮沉Zhou Guodong
1990 Finishing Line Zhong Chongguang
Happy Family 开心家族Song Kecheng
1991The Darkest Hour 列血青春Ma Zhongyuan
1992Fiery Passion 烈焰焚情Mingliang
Crime and Passion 执法先锋Lin Wenbin
1993Hidden Truth 法网晴天Zhou Xiaoping
Switch 妙鬼临门Li Tianliang
1994The Blazing Trail 兰桂坊血案
Those Were the Days 生命擂台Yan Kaicong [10]
1995 The Teochew Family
The Rangers 铁血雄心
Heartbeat 医胆仁心Ye Haowei
Pointed Triangle 杀之恋
It's My World 还我半天边
A Different Life 妈姐情缘Shen Tianle
1996Ace Cops 妙警点三八
Courting Trouble 婚姻法庭Yang Jianan
Life on the Line 魂断四面佛Xu Mingyang
1997Immortal Love 不老的传说Su Youming
Crimes and Tribulations 狮城奇案录Liang Shui
2000Catherine Listening to the Rain
2001 The Invincible Squad
The Hotel Emil Qin
The Stratagem 世纪攻略Zhou Jingxue
Beyond the Axis of Truth Chen Xueming
2002 First Touch Dr Charles Yong
The Vagrant
Brotherhood
The Wing of Desire 天使的诱惑Qin Kailang
Law 2002 法内情2002Qiu Zhishao
First Touch IIDr Charles Yong
Innocently Guilty 法内有情天Qiu Zhishao
2003My Love, My Home 同一屋檐下Situ Enming/Situ Ocean
A Toast of Love
2004When the Time Comes 一线之间Jieren
Double Happiness Luo Jiaqi
The Crime Hunters Lan Tinghui
Man at Forty Chen Longwei
Timeless Gift 遗情未了Wang Yu
2005Lady of Leisure 贤妻靓母Chen Guoqing
Zero to Hero Xie Jizu
Beyond the Axis of Truth II Chen Xueming
2006 Women of Times Jia Zengtu
House of Joy Xu Zhiguo
2007 Live Again Chen Haiming
The Golden Path Cheng-Ge
2008 Calefare Champion Zhang
2009 Perfect Cut 2Win Cheong
2013 Serangoon Road James Lim
2017 Life Less Ordinary Ye Chengda [11]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef
1996Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Nominated
1997Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Nominated
2001 Star Awards Best Actor Beyond the Axis of Truth (as Chen Xueming)Nominated
Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won
2002 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won
2003 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won
Asian Television Award Best Actor First Touch II(as Dr Charles Yong)Nominated
2004 Star Awards Best Actor Man at Forty (as Chen Longwei)Nominated
Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won
2005 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won
2006 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won
2007 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Won

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References

  1. "8 Local Celebrities that never seems to age".
  2. "Celeb couple's son makes acting debut". AsiaOne. 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  3. "Edmund Chen almost missed out on 'Street Fighter' role". Channelnewsasia. 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 14 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  4. "Edmund Chen". 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  5. "Echoing Love". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  6. "Once Upon A Garden City: A SELECTION OF CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG ADULT BOOKS FROM SINGAPORE" (PDF). National Arts Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2012.
  7. Chua, Charlene (14 July 2014). "Theatre director Loretta Chen says family support saved her during darkest days". The New Paper. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  8. Lee, Lynn (3 June 2005). "POLITICS To HOUGANG with LOVE ...from THE CHENS". The Straits Times . p. 32.
  9. "向云离开新视". 14 March 2000. Archived from the original on 8 August 2002.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. Guan, Libing (4 February 1994). "900 fans have flocked to his Hut so far". The Straits Times . p. 22. Retrieved 12 December 2024 via NewspaperSG.
  11. "Madeline Chu, Sean Say, John Hung: 1991 ad of top 20 popular artistes stirs nostalgia". AsiaOne. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.