Making the Jump | Chen Tang - Actor
Chen Tang | ActorChen Ying Tang (born 18 July 1988) has an international background that instilled in him early a lifelong love and curiosity for different cultures, peoples, and experiences. As a Chinese citizen and US Permanent Resident, and fluent in both Mandarin and English, he has been able to bridge a gap between both Hollywood and China during his career.He has acted in numerous films and television series, most recently as "Yao" in the much-anticipated Disney live-action remake of Mulan (2020) directed by Niki Caro, and as the main cast member "Hong" of the Bruce Lee inspired Cinemax show Warrior (2019) from Jonathan Tropper and Justin Lin. Other recurring credits include Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013), Bosch (2014), Grey's Anatomy (2005), and Being Mary Jane (2013), among others.Born in Kobe, Japan, and spending his childhood in Guangxi, China, Chen Tang belongs to the ethnic minority Zhuang group from Southern China. His parents were trained as medical doctors in China, and among the first government-sponsored international students to leave the Mainland during the re-opening of China in the 1980s. His parents lived in Japan for almost six years, during which Chen was raised by his grandmother back in China while they pursued their doctorates there. After immigrating to the United States, Chen's family settled in the Deep South in Memphis, Tennessee. Not knowing anything different, his first accent in English was a natural Southern accent, which for some reason always surprises people to hear. Though he always stayed connected to his Chinese roots, and often revisited China, he still feels very much rooted to the Southern culture he grew up in.Chen has great respect for the men and women in the armed forces, no matter the country. Coming from a military family (his grandfather and several relatives serving in the Chinese People's Liberation Army), he once had aspirations of being a soldier. But soon falling in love with acting instead, he went off to Boston, and then later New York City to pursue his craft. Sporadic work began to come his way on the New York stage, in television, and independent films, and he eventually made the move to Los Angeles to pursue his passion in front of the camera. Perhaps due to his varied travels and background, Chen has consistently been noted for a "rare, chameleon-like ability to transform" in his work, resulting in many roles that appear, sound, and feel very distinct from each other.