Russell Wong

In 1981, Wong graduated from Mariposa County High School, and that fall enrolled at Santa Monica City College. Wong supported himself as a photographer and as a dancer (appearing in rock videos with David Bowie, Donna Summer, and Janet Jackson, among others) before scoring his first screen roles in 1985, appearing in a Hong Kong musical called Ge wu sheng ping (aka Musical Dancer) and in a screen adaptation of James Clavell's best-seller Tai-Pan. A number of undistinguished television and film roles followed, but Wong began breaking into better roles in 1989, when he made a memorable guest appearance on the drama series 21 Jump Street and won a leading role in Wayne Wang's acclaimed independent romantic comedy Eat a Bowl of Tea. Supporting roles in China Cry and New Jack City were to follow, and Wong found himself working with Wayne Wang again when he was cast in a meaty role in the film adaptation of Amy Tan's best-selling novel The Joy Luck Club. Wong finally scored a high-profile breakthrough role in 1994, when he was cast in the leading role in the made-for-TV movie Vanishing Son, in which he played a Chinese political activist exiled in America. The show was popular enough to spawn three sequels, and was later spun off into a syndicated TV series. After Vanishing Son ran its course, Wong moved on to more big-screen work, including major roles in Prophesy II, The Tracker, and Romeo Must Die, as well as the made-for-TV epic The Lost Empire. Russell Wong is also the brother of Michael Wong, a fellow thespian active in both Hong Kong and the United States. ~ All Movie Guide