Chang Chen (born 14 October 1976) is a Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in ''
A Brighter Summer Day'' (1991), ''
Happy Together'' (1997), ''
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' (2000), ''
Three Times'' (2005), ''
Brotherhood of Blades
''Brotherhood of Blades'' () is a 2014 Chinese '' wuxia'' film directed by Lu Yang. Set in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the story follows Shen Lian, a guard of the imperial secret police seeking and his three comrades as they are ordered to hunt ...
'' (2014), ''
The Assassin'' (2015) and ''
The Soul'' (2021). For his performance in ''The Soul'', he won
Best Leading Actor prize at the
58th Golden Horse Awards.
Career
Chang started his film career at a young age. He was selected by a Taiwanese film director
Edward Yang to be the protagonist of a four-hour-long critically acclaimed film ''
A Brighter Summer Day'',
which won the Special Jury Prize at the
Tokyo International Film Festival
The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...
. After the first film, he took a part-time job at a film company and worked there for two years until he graduated from high school.
One of the earliest films Chang acted in was
Wong Kar-wai's ''
Happy Together'' (1997). He rose to fame for his role as "Dark Cloud" in the 2000 film ''
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'', directed by
Ang Lee
Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...
.
He also featured in Wong Kar-wai's ''
2046
In contemporary history, the third millennium is the current millennium in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 3000 ( MMM), spanning the 21st to 30 ...
'' (2004).
Chang then co-starred with
Shu Qi in
Hou Hsiao-hsien's ''
Three Times'' (2005),
which competed for the
Palme d'Or at the
2005 Cannes Film Festival and won
Golden Horse accolades for Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year, among other awards. For his performance in that film, Chang was also nominated for
Best Leading Actor at the
42nd Golden Horse Awards.
In 2006, Chang was nominated for the
Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor for his role in ''
The Go Master'', a dramatisation of the life of the
Go master
Wu Qingyuan. The following year, Chang made his Korean debut in
Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk ( ; 20 December 196011 December 2020) was a South Korean film director and screenwriter, noted for his Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic Art film, art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit ...
's ''
Breath
Breathing (spiration or ventilation) is the neuroscience of rhythm, rhythmical process of moving air into (inhalation) and out of (exhalation) the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the Milieu intérieur, internal environment, mostly to flu ...
'', which competed for the
Palme d'Or at the
2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Chang then starred in the historical war epic ''
Red Cliff'' (2008-2009), portraying the warlord
Sun Quan. He was nominated at the
Hong Kong Film Awards for
Best Supporting Actor. He next starred in the 2012 historical epic ''
The Last Supper'' directed by
Lu Chuan and the 2013 kungfu epic ''
The Grandmaster'' by
Wong Kar-wai.
In 2014, Chang headlined the wuxia film ''
Brotherhood of Blades
''Brotherhood of Blades'' () is a 2014 Chinese '' wuxia'' film directed by Lu Yang. Set in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the story follows Shen Lian, a guard of the imperial secret police seeking and his three comrades as they are ordered to hunt ...
'', which won commercial success and critical acclaim. He earned his third nomination for Best Actor in the Golden Horse Awards.
Chang reunited with ''Three Times'' director Hou Hsiao-hsien and co-star Shu Qi in the 2015 wuxia film ''
The Assassin'', which competed for the
Palme d'Or at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
.
In 2017, Chang played the title character in the action film ''
Mr. Long'', which was selected to compete for the
Golden Bear
The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...
in the main competition section of the
67th Berlin International Film Festival. The same year, he returned for the second installment of ''Brotherhood of Blades'' film.
Chang served as a jury member at the
2018 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2021, Chang played
Dr. Wellington Yueh in
Denis Villeneuve's epic science fiction film ''
Dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
''. which premiered at the
78th Venice International Film Festival. In the same year, he won
Best Leading Actor at the
58th Golden Horse Awards for his performance in the mystery film ''
The Soul'', marking his first Golden Horse Award after three previous nominations without a win.
Chang served as a jury member at the
59th Golden Horse Awards in 2022.
In June 2023, Chang was invited to become a member of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
.
Personal life
Chang was born in
Taipei
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,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. His father
Chang Kuo-chu and his brother Chang Han are also actors.
Filmography
Film
Television series
As director
Music video appearances
Theater
Discography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Chen
1976 births
Living people
Taiwanese male film actors
Male actors from Taipei
20th-century Taiwanese male actors
21st-century Taiwanese male actors
21st-century Taiwanese male singers
21st-century Taiwanese singers