Frédéric Chau (born 6 June 1977) is a French actor.

Life and career

Frédéric Chau was born in

Ho Chi Minh City 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 ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, to parents of the Chinese minority in Cambodia. In 1977, while his mother was pregnant with him, his parents left

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 ...

for

in order to escape the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

who were massacring civilians. He was only six months old when his family emigrated 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 ...

. They settled in the district of Marx-Dormoy in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, then moved very quickly to the Paris suburbs in

Villetaneuse Villetaneuse () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Heraldry Population Education Primary and secondary schools The commune has four prescho ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

. After being spotted by a fashion photographer, he briefly worked as a model for the People International advertising agency. Passionate about travel, he was recruited in 1998 by

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

as a steward, while he took comedy classes. In 2005, Frédéric Chau went on stage and made a name for himself by performing different skits and performing in several stand-up scenes, notably at the Ménilmontant theater. In 2006, wearing his white shirt, his tie and his impeccable suit jacket, he was the only Asian at the

Jamel Comedy Club ''Jamel Comedy Club'' is a French comedy show on the television station Canal+, produced and presented by the French actor/comedian Jamel Debbouze. It aims to highlight talented young comedians, who each get roughly 5 minutes in on stage wit ...

and he enjoyed it: "Not easy to be an Asian comedian if you do not do karate, spring rolls, or you know nothing about computers!" In 2010 he had a small role in the French/Hollywood production ''From Paris With Love'' (2010), starring John Rhys Meyers and John Travolta, as a Chinese maître'd employed by the French-Asian Triads. In 2014, he played in ''

Serial (Bad) Weddings ''Serial (Bad) Weddings'' () is a 2014 French comedy film directed by Philippe de Chauveron, and starring Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby. It is the first installment in the ''Serial (Bad) Weddings'' film series, and was followed by ''Serial ( ...

'' with

Christian Clavier Christian Jean-Marie Clavier (; born 6 May 1952) is a French actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. A co-founder of Le Splendid in the 1970s, a Parisian café-théâtre company which soon garnered success, he became widely popular aft ...

and

Chantal Lauby Chantal Lauby (born 23 March 1948) is a French actress, film director, screenwriter, humorist, comedian and television host. She is a member and founder of the group of comedians '' Les Nuls'' alongside Bruno Carette, Alain Chabat and Dominiqu ...

Philippe de Chauveron Philippe de Chauveron (born 15 November 1965) is a French film director, and writer. He is best known for his 2014 film ''Serial (Bad) Weddings ''Serial (Bad) Weddings'' () is a 2014 French comedy film directed by Philippe de Chauveron, and starr ...

. The same year, he played a secondary role in

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...

's blockbuster, which earned him the title of "Most successful French actor in 2014" by Première magazine, which noted that the accumulation of these two successes allowed him to total nearly 17.5 million ticket sales over the year. In September 2015, he published an autobiography, ''Je viens de si loin'' (''I come from so far'' in English), with Philippe Rey Editions. He reveals much about himself on his journey, the exile of his parents, the life of an immigrant in this country and in this city, and his experiences with assimilation/integration. In 2019, he starred in a lead role in a film called ''Made in China'' (2019).

Filmography

Feature films

Television

Music video

Publication

* ''Je viens de si loin'', éditions Philippe Rey, 2015.

References

External links

*
Frédéric Chau Official Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, Frederic 1977 births Living people French male film actors French male television actors French people of Vietnamese descent French people of Chinese descent French people of Cambodian descent Vietnamese emigrants to France Actors from Ho Chi Minh City 21st-century French male actors