François Chau (born October 26, 1959) is a Cambodian and American actor. He is known for his roles as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's '' Lost'', Quick Kick on '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'', Dr. Chang in the film '' 21 & Over'', Shredder in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'', and as industrialist Jules-Pierre Mao in '' The Expanse''.

Early life

Chau was born in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, of Chinese and Vietnamese descent. When he was roughly 6 years old, he and his family moved to

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

(now Ho Chi Minh City). At the age of 7, Chau moved from Saigon to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

due to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and after a year moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Chau and his family settled there, and he was also schooled there. After he graduated from college, Chau moved out to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he has remained since and now lives with his wife and daughter.

Career

Chau has had a number of diverse roles, playing Chinese, Japanese and even Hmong characters, most notably as Dr. Martin Ng in the American sci-fi series '' Gemini Division'', and as Dr. Pierre Chang in 17 episodes of ABC's '' Lost''. Chau has also taken on a number of smaller TV roles. He has appeared as Koo Yin, a Chinese consul in the drama '' 24'' and a Chinese diplomat in ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

''. He was the voice of Quick Kick on '' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' and Dr. Shen in '' XCOM: Enemy Unknown'', and he portrayed

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Winston 'Vagabond' Chang in the '' Wing Commander III'' and '' Wing Commander IV'' video games. He was the voice of Sensei Ishikawa in the ''

Ghost of Tsushima In folklore, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from an invisible presence to translucen ...

'' video game. Chau has appeared as a guest star in '' The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.'', '' The Unit'', ''

NUMB3RS ''Numbers'' (stylized as ''NUMB3RS'') is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on CBS from January 23, 2005, to March 12, 2010, with a total of six seasons consisting of 118 episodes. The series was created by Nico ...

'', '' ER'', ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

'', '' Alias'', ''

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...

'', ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'', '' JAG'', '' Medium'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'', '' Last Man Standing'', and '' NCIS''. He was also featured in

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

's music video '' Fine China'', the 2013 film '' 21 & Over'', the television film '' 9/11: The Twin Towers'', and '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'', where he physically played Shredder. His latest projects have included a Syfy production, '' The Expanse'', starring as recurring character Jules-Pierre Mao, father of main character Julie Mao, and a recurring role as Arthur's step-father Walter on '' The Tick''. He has also appeared in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

spy-action comedy, '' K.C. Undercover'', where he plays Zane, an evil villain who kidnaps K.C. and threatens to kill her family, due to a checkered history with them. Chau portrayed mob-boss Mr. Keo in

Cathy Yan Cathy Y. Yan is a Chinese-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films include the comedy-drama film '' Dead Pigs'' (2018) and ''Birds of Prey'' (2020), the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe. Early life and edu ...

's live action DC adaptation of ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'', starring Margot Robbie. Chau appeared on ''

The George Lucas Talk Show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'' is an improvised talk show in New York City hosted by comedian Connor Ratliff, who appears as George Lucas, the creator of ''Star Wars'', and he interviews real guests as themselves in a panel format. He is jo ...

'' during a fundraiser where various guests appeared for a marathon of the entirety of the seventh season of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series '' Arliss''. In 2019, he starred in the science fiction horror film '' The Honeymoon Phase''.

Personal life

Chau is married and has a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Awards and nominations

* 2011 Ovation Awards: Nominated for Featured Actor in a Play for the role of Dr. Heng in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Extraordinary Chambers"

References

External links

* *
AArisings A-Profiler Interview Published November 18, 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, Francois 1959 births Living people Cambodian emigrants to the United States American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors Cambodian people of Vietnamese descent Cambodian people of Chinese descent People from Phnom Penh 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male actors of Chinese descent American actors of Vietnamese descent