David Yip

David Yip (Chinese: 葉西園, born 4 June 1951) is an English actor, best known for his lead role in The Chinese Detective.^[1]

Early life

Yip was born in Liverpool and trained at East 15 Acting School, London. He is the son of a Chinese father, a seaman from the Canton area of China, and an English mother from Liverpool.^[2]

Career

Yip is known for playing the lead role of Johnny Ho in the 1981 BBC drama The Chinese Detective, notable for its frontlining of an ethnic British cast. He also played Michael Choì in the soap opera Brookside between 1989 and 1990. He also had a small part in the 1979 Doctor Who story Destiny of the Daleks and played a factory owner in Casualty.

His film credits include playing Wu Han in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and CIA liaison agent Chuck Lee in the 1985 James Bond film A View to a Kill.

He performed the radio play The Inventor of Fireworks, written by Benjamin Yeoh for BBC Radio 3 on 22 January 2004.

Yip wrote a play, named Gold Mountain, which was made for Liverpool Capital of Culture 2008, but owing to writing problems, it was delayed. It is based on his father's life. It premiered on 6 October 2010, at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool, and was performed again in 2012.^[3]

In 2013, Yip joined the cast of feature film All That Remains.^[4]

Personal life

David Yip is a practising Nichiren Buddhist and a member of the Soka Gakkai International. He currently lives in North Oxfordshire with his wife Virginia and his dog Buddy.

Selected filmography

• Quatermass (1979)
• Doctor Who (1979)
• The Chinese Detective (1981-1982)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
• A View to a Kill (1985)
• Ping Pong (1986)
• Making Out (1989-1990)
• Brookside (1989-1990)
• Every Silver Lining (1993)
• Covert Assassin (1994)
• Hamlet (1996)
• Bugs (1996)
• Entrapment (1999)
• Arabian Nights (2000)
• My Kingdom (2001)
• Oscar Charlie (2002)
• The Bill (2003)
• Casualty (2006)
• Act of Grace (2008)
• The School That Roared (2009)
• ChuckleVision (2009)
• Spirit Warriors (2010)
• Re-Evolution (2011)
• Brink (video game) (2012)
• Holby City Raymond Lo (2013)
• All That Remains Noboru (2013)

References

External links

• David Yip's website
• David Yip at the Internet Movie Database