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.

Edmund Chen
Born (1961-02-04) 4 February 1961 (age 63)
NationalitySingaporean
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 PinyinChén Zhīcái

Career

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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

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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

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Chen functions as a brand ambassador and spokesman for many firms and products, including Beijing 101 Hair Consultants [1], Mitsubishi Electric, Chien Chi Tow, G- Spa, Donut Empire and KKC Property in Singapore and throughout the Asian region.

Personal life

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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

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Film

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

Television series

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Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1987 Sunshine After Rain 雨过天晴 Chen Junjie
Moving On 变迁 Ah Wen
1988 Star 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
1989 When 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
1991 The Darkest Hour 列血青春 Ma Zhongyuan
1992 Fiery Passion 烈焰焚情 Mingliang
Crime and Passion 执法先锋 Lin Wenbin
1993 Hidden Truth 法网晴天 Zhou Xiaoping
Switch 妙鬼临门 Li Tianliang
1994 The Blazing Trail 兰桂坊血案
Those Were the Days 生命擂台 Yan Kaicong
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
1996 Ace 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
1997 Immortal Love 不老的传说 Su Youming
Crimes and Tribulations 狮城奇案录 Liang Shui
2000 Catherine 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2002 Qiu Zhishao
First Touch II Dr Charles Yong
Innocently Guilty 法内有情天 Qiu Zhishao
2003 My Love, My Home 同一屋檐下 Situ Enming/Situ Ocean
A Toast of Love
2004 When 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
2005 Lady 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 2 Win Cheong
2013 Serangoon Road James Lim
2017 Life Less Ordinary Ye Chengda [10]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref
1996 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 20
1997 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 20
2001 Star Awards Best Actor Beyond the Axis of Truth (as Chen Xueming) Nominated
Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 10
2002 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 10
2003 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 10
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 Top 10
2005 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 10
2006 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 10
2007 Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes Top 10

References

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  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. ^ "Madeline Chu, Sean Say, John Hung: 1991 ad of top 20 popular artistes stirs nostalgia". AsiaOne. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
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