Richie Koh (born 16 June 1993) is a Singaporean actor who is signed to

MediaCorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

and China's LongAllStar Entertainment Group. In 2023, Koh won the

Star Awards for Best Actor The Star Awards for Best Actor is an award presented annually at the Star Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1994. The category was introduced in 1995, at the 2nd Star Awards ceremony; Li Nanxing received the award for his role in ''Woun ...

for his critically acclaimed role as an intellectually disabled in the drama series '' Your World in Mine''. At the age of 29, he is also the second youngest recipient of the award, after

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

who won in 1997 at the age of 26.

Early life

Richie Koh Rui Qi was born on 16 June 1993. He graduated from

Ngee Ann Polytechnic Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. Established in 1963, the polytechnic is renowned for its business programmes. History Ngee An ...

with a Diploma in Financial Informatics in 2014, following which he completed his

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establi ...

(RSAF) with the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Career

In 2013, Koh was scouted when Channel U’s Hey Gorgeous team went to various campuses in Singapore looking for suitable contestants. He garnered much support during the competition and emerged as first runner-up. He chose the stage name “Rui Qi” as his stage name on the advice of Singaporean host-actress

Quan Yi Fong Quan Yi Fong (, born 1 March 1974) is a Taiwanese-born Singaporean host and actress, who has since taken up Singaporean citizenship and given up her Taiwanese citizenship. Career Quan joined the SBC in 1992. In 1996, she was fired by TCS ov ...

. In 2017, after serving National Service, Koh started his career by debuting in Channel 8’s army-themed drama ''

When Duty Calls ''When Duty Calls'' ( zh, s=卫国先锋) is a 20-episode Singaporean drama produced and telecast on Mediacorp Channel 8 in 2017. It is to commemorate 50 years of National Service in Singapore. It is sponsored by Ministry of Defence and Ministr ...

'', a major role that charmed viewers' hearts. Fans sang praises of his natural acting and good looks, factors which landed him his first nomination for Best Newcomer in

Star Awards 2018 Star Awards 2018 (also SA2018SG, Chinese: 红星大奖2018) is a television award ceremony which is held in Singapore. The Post Party and Ceremony Awards was broadcast live on 22 April 2018. A total of 15 awards were handed out during the cerem ...

. October that year saw Koh jetting off to Changzhou, Jiangsu for a month to film China-web movie The Legendary Detective of the Shanghai Bund where he played an assistant to the agency detective. The following year, Koh made cameo appearances in long-running Channel 8 drama '' Life Less Ordinary'', & Toggle series ''Die Die Also Must Serve''. In addition, he wrapped up filming on ''118 Reunion'' and made a special appearance in local movie ''

Wonderful! Liang Xi Mei ''Wonderful! Liang Xi Mei'' () is a 2018 Chinese New Year Singaporean comedy film directed by Jack Neo. It stars Neo, alongside Mark Lee, Henry Thia, Benjamin Tan, Wang Lei, Jaspers Lai, Chua Lee Lian, and Cavin Soh. The film was released on 1 ...

'' directed by

Jack Neo Jack Neo (born 24 January 1960) is a Singaporean actor, television host, comedian and film director. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1983 to 2003. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was best known for his cross-dressing roles ...

. His role as a gangster boss in the movie saw him gain new fans both here and across the Causeway. Koh also acted in several Toggle Original productions such as ''Star Crossed'', and he took the lead role in ''Divided'' as well as ''The Distance Between''. In addition, Koh acted in a Gilbert Chan movie ''23:59 The Haunting Hour'' as a soldier tasked to kill a snake spirit. On 30 August 2018, The Celebrity Agency announced that Koh would be expanding his career to China after it signed a co-management contract with China’s LongAllStar Entertainment Group. Koh trained in China for 2 months to hone his acting skills before returning to Singapore. In 2021, Koh starred as Zhu Yongjie in ''Live Your Dreams'', where he was nominated MyPick! Favourite Male Show Stealer and Favourite CP in Star Awards 2022. In 2022, Koh soared to fame after starring in the immensely popular '' Your World in Mine'' as an intellectually disabled Zheng Tiancai. For this role, he received the Best Actor award at the

Star Awards 2023 A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

, which was also his first time being nominated in that category. Koh was also nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role at the

Asian Television Awards The Asian Television Awards (launched in 1996), is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards comprises 56 categories across news, documentarie ...

in 2022.

Filmography

Television series

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Richie Koh's profile @ Mediacorp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koh, Richie Living people Singaporean people of Chinese descent Singaporean male film actors Singaporean male television actors Singaporean television personalities 21st-century Singaporean male actors 1993 births Ngee Ann Polytechnic alumni