Edmund Chen

Edmund Chen (Chinese: 陈之财; pinyin: Chén Zhīcái; Wade–Giles: Ch'en² Chih¹ Ts'ai², born 4 February 1961 is a Chinese Singaporean An Actor, Author and Producer Edmund Chen is an internationally-known celebrity with over 29 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry. He has over 100 television appearances, 18 international and local films, 4 stage plays, 2 movies which he produced and 4 solo music albums under his belt. With a strong passion for drawing since he was a child, Chen has become an accomplished artist in his own right. In addition to designing several local stamps with the ever loveable giant panda and otter series for Singapore Post (SingPost), he is appointed as SingPost’s Stamp Ambassador Chen. Chen’s talent does not end here as his packaging designs have also won awards by Singapore Star Packaging Awards for four consecutive years from 2002 to 2005 and Asian Package Award (Japan) in 2005.. In 2013, Chen set the Guinness World Record for the Longest Drawing by an Individual with a distance of over 601m. In 2015, he collaborated with Samsonite, the world’s leading luggage brand to creating exclusive luggage collection entitled “Cherish”. A man of many talents, Chen has authored 9 books and was voted by the Readers of the National Critics’ Choice as the Best New Children’s Author of the year in South East Asia. In recognition of his new publications recently, the READ Singapore Bridges also appointed Chen as their Ambassador. As a producer, Chen was presented with the Silver Screen Special Achievement Award at the 24th Singapore International Film Festival and the Committee Recommended Film at the 5th International Chinese film Festival in Sydney, Australia for his maiden feature film, Echoing Love. Chen strongly believes in cultivating a greater sense of sharing, helping one another and doing good deeds for the greater good of the society. His endorsement and ambassadorship with select organizations, such as the Red Cross Society, National Environmental Agency; Public Utility Board; National Climate Change Secretariat, The Prime Minister Office; Waste Management and Recycling Association of Singapore; MCCY; Read! Singapore,Singapore Post, PUB anreflect his unwavering belief and goal to spread the message of doing social good, helping people and sharing as far and wide as possible.

Career

Chen entered the entertainment industry after completing the SBC (predecessor of MediaCorp) 7th drama training course in 1987.^[1] He starred in several high-profile dramas such as sci-fi drama series Star Maiden, Air Force and police thriller Patrol, where he first met and later married co-star Xiang Yun. During the late 1990s he temporarily left showbiz for several years to concentrate on other projects. After returning to MediaCorp his popularity soared and he won the Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes award seven consecutive times. During the Star Awards 2007 25th anniversary special, he and Ivy Lee, who played his on-screen partner many times, were named the Top 5 Favourite On-screen Couples for their roles as husband and wife in Double Happiness. He left MediaCorp at the end of 2007 for family reasons but made a brief return to the screens as a guest star in Channel 5 comedy Calefare and the second season of Channel U production Perfect Cut. Besides acting, he has also presented and hosted shows ranging from sports events to variety shows to charity galas.

Chen is one of the few Singaporeans to have successfully ventured into Hollywood and has starred in a film produced by Warner Brothers (Turn Left, Turn Right), as well as more recently in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li distributed by Fox Pictures, as Xiang, father of Chun Li.^[2][3]

Chen directed his first feature film Echoing Love (爱情六重奏), which consists of six shorts directed by six different people and the cast includes Erica Lee, Alaric Tay, Vincent Ng, Nathaniel Ho and his wife Xiang Yun. It was screened at the 24th Singapore International Film Festival in 2011, where it won a Special Achievement Award at the Silver Screen Awards.^[4]

Other work

Chen left the entertainment industry in 2007 and he began writing and illustrating Chinese language children's books. Two of his titles Dino Rulez! (欢迎来到我们的世界) and Little Otters To The Rescue! (水獭宝宝救爸爸) have been selected by the National Arts Council for its yearly catalogue.^[5] He designs stationery, stamp and T-shirts, which are sold through Panda Goods online store.

Endorsements

Chen functions as a brand ambassador and spokesman for many firms and products, including Beijing 101 Hair Consultants (www.beijing101hair.com), Mitsubishi Electric, Chien Chi Tow, G- Spa, Donut Empire and KKC Property in Singapore and throughout the Asian region.

Personal life

Chen married fellow MediaCorp actress Xiang Yun in 1989 after meeting on the set of Patrol and they have two children.^[6] Their son Yixi made his acting debut in the web drama series i.Rock in early 2012.^[1]

Chen is the eldest of three children. His younger sister is theatre director and entrepreneur Loretta Chen.^[7]

Filmography

Films

TV series

References

• Baidu Baike (in Chinese)

External links

• Edmund Chen on IMDb
• Bio on MediaCorp website