Osric Chau
Chau in 2023 at Heroes Assemble 3 in Richmond VA
Other names周逸之; zau1 yat6 zi1
OccupationActor
Years active2002–present
Websitewww.osricchau.com

Osric Chau (Chinese: 周逸之; Jyutping: zau1 yat6 zi1) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Kevin Tran in the CW series Supernatural, Vogel in the BBC America series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and Ryan Choi in the TV shows set in the Arrowverse.

Life and career

Chau's father is from Hong Kong, and his mother is from Malaysia.[1] In 2000, he took up Wing Chun and continued to study the martial art for eight years. He also studied tai chi and traditional forms of wushu under Zhang Zhi Bing, a master from Harbin, China. After four years, upon Zhang's return to China, Chau enrolled in West Coast Chinese Martial Arts in Vancouver under head instructor Bruce Fontaine and studied modern wushu, a more performance-orientated martial art. In 2007, Chau trained for seven months with the BSU Wushu Team at Beijing Sport University in preparation for the Canadian National Team Trials. Upon his return, he became a member of the Canadian National Wushu Team.

Chau originally wanted to be a stuntman rather than an actor,[2] and worked on stunts for EA Games before appearing in his first major role opposite David Carradine and Daryl Hannah in the two-part television film Kung Fu Killer.[3][4] He went on to make his feature film debut in a supporting role in the 2009 film 2012[2] and later became more well known through his recurring role as Kevin Tran in the CW fantasy series Supernatural.

Chau has collaborated with the YouTube channel The Hillywood Show in video parodies of The Walking Dead,[5] Supernatural,[6][7] and Sherlock.[8] He has also been involved with campaigns against stereotyping in media.[9]

In 2018, Chau starred in the Manila-set independent film Empty by Design alongside Filipina actress Rhian Ramos and Crazy Rich Asians actor Chris Pang.[10] Empty by Design marks Chau's first feature film producing endeavor.[11] In September 2019, Chau was cast at Ryan Choi in the Arrowverse, and was featured during three of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" episodes.[12] In November 2019, he was cast as the lead to the Indonesian horror film, The Villa.[13]

In 2021, he returned to The Flash as Ryan Choi for the third and fourth parts of its "Armageddon" event which opened the eighth season.[14] This was an alternate timeline version who had no family, but as part of Team Flash had taken up the mantle of Atom like in the comics.[15]

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Cold Squad Vic Dnang
2007 Dragon Boys Teen Television film
2008 Kung Fu Killer Lang Han
2009 The Troop Hector Episode: "Forest Gump"
2011 Best Player Ash's buddy Television film
2012 Mister French Taste Leon 7 episodes, writer for 1 other
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn J.J.
2012–2019 Supernatural Kevin Tran Recurring role, 20 episodes
2014 The 100 Red Eyed Boy Episode: "I Am Become Death"
2015 Beyond Redemption Rickson
Blood and Water Charlie Xie
2016 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Gul
2016–2017 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Vogel (member of the Rowdy 3) Recurring role
2019–2021 Carmen Sandiego The Troll Voice
2019, 2021 The Flash Ryan Choi / Atom Episodes: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 3", "Armageddon" parts 3 and 4
2020 Arrow Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 4"
Legends of Tomorrow Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 5"
2021 Morning Show Mysteries Wally Episode 6: "Murder Ever After"
2022 Star Trek: Discovery Oros Episode: "The Galactic Barrier"
Tekken: Bloodline Bully 1 Voice, 1 episode
Christmas at the Golden Dragon Rick Chen Television film
2023 My Adventures with Superman Lewis Lane Voice, episode: "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal"

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 2012 Nima
2010 What Women Want Chen Er Dong
2012 Fun Size Peng
The Man With The Iron Fists Blacksmith's Assistant
2014 The Akira Project Kaneda Shotaro
2016 The Matchbreaker Sam Independent film
2017 Boone: The Bounty Hunter Denny
2018 Status Update Donald Fu
2019 Empty by Design Eric Independent film; also producer
2021 Superhost Teddy Also executive producer
2023 Zoe.mp4 Matt

Other

Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Tea Master Stunts Short film
2012 Must Come Down Fight choreographer and executive producer
2014 The Walking Dead Parody Glenn Rhee Parody by the Hillywood Show
2015 Supernatural Parody Sam Winchester
2016 Sherlock Parody Jim Moriarty
2018 Supernatural Parody 2 Sam Winchester
2019 Umbrella Academy Parody Ben Hargreeves

References

  1. ^ Beth Hong (July 13, 2011). "Osric Chau — Learning French Manners in Hong Kong". Schema magazine.
  2. ^ a b Leiren-Young, Mark. "Hollywood North: Vancouver actor Osric Chau plays dead on Supernatural". www.vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  3. ^ "2012 and beyond: rising star Osric Chau on screen in the East". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  4. ^ Ching, Gene. "David Carradine in Spike TV's Kung Fu Killer". Kung Fu Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  5. ^ Anderson. Kyle (November 10, 2014). "Nerdist Presents: The Walking Dead Parody By The Hillywood Show". Nerdist.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  6. ^ Ratcliffe, Amy (May 21, 2015). "Nerdist Presents: Supernatural Meets Taylor Swift In A New Parody By The Hillywood Show". Nerdist.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  7. ^ Grant, Stacey (May 21, 2015). "This "Supernatural" Taylor Swift Parody Is The Video Fans Didn't Know They Needed". BuzzFeed. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  8. ^ Grant, Stacey (August 24, 2016). "Here's How The Hillywood Show Used Macklemore For The Perfect Sherlock Parody". MTV.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "Osric Chau Starts 'Proud to Be Different' Represent Campaign". CDA News. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  10. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (2018-08-20). "Danny Pudi Set For 'Babysplitters'; 'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Chris Pang Joins Osric Chau In 'Empty By Design'". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  11. ^ "Inside Osric Chau's Upcoming Indie Film 'Empty by Design'". Kore Asian Media. 2018-10-15. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-02.
  12. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 26, 2019). "'Supernatural's Osric Chau Enters Arrowverse For 'Crisis On Infinite Earths' Crossover". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  13. ^ "United Media Asia Inks First-Look Deal With Indonesia's Kompas Gramedia". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  14. ^ Damore, Meagan (August 25, 2021). "Team Flash's Season 8 Roster Is Basically the Arrowverse's Justice League". CBR. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  15. ^ Anderson, Jenna (December 7, 2021). "The Flash: "Armageddon, Part 4" Finally Gives SPOILER a Comic-Accurate Costume". ComicBook. Retrieved December 8, 2021.

External links

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