18 Facts About Russell Wong

Russell Wong is an American actor of film and television.

Russell Wong was one of the first actors of Chinese descent to hold a leading role in a primetime American television series, portraying Jian-Wa with Chi Muoi Lo portraying Wago in the highly rated critically acclaimed Vanishing Son, first in a series of a made-for-television films followed by a 13-episode syndicated series.

Russell Wong has appeared in numerous films and series including Abel Ferrara's China Girl, New Jack City, The Joy Luck Club, Takedown, The Monkey King, Romeo Must Die, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

The sixth of seven children, Wong was born in Troy, New York; the son of Connie Van Yserloo, an American artist of French and Dutch descent and Chinese American restaurateur William Wong.

Russell Wong's family moved to Albany when he was a baby, where his father ran a restaurant.

When Russell Wong was seven years old, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to California, settling near Yosemite.

In 1981, Russell Wong graduated from Mariposa County High School, and that fall enrolled at Santa Monica City College.

Russell Wong supported himself as a photographer and as a dancer before scoring his first screen roles in 1985, appearing in a Hong Kong musical called Ge wu sheng ping and in a screen adaptation of James Clavell's best-seller Tai-Pan.

Russell Wong played a rising Chinese American gangster named Yung Gan in Abel Ferrara's China Girl, a Romeo and Juliet love story film about the conflicts between Chinese gangsters and the Italian mob in New York.

Russell Wong played Lieutenant Tong in the film Twisted starring Ashley Judd, Samuel L Jackson, Andy Garcia and directed by Philip Kaufman.

Russell Wong voiced the main character, an undercover cop named Nick Kang, in the video game True Crime: Streets of LA.

Russell Wong appeared as Leon in Chris Chan Lee's independent film Undoing opposite Sung Kang and Kelly Hu, and Anna Chi's Dim Sum Funeral, opposite Bai Ling and Talia Shire.

Russell Wong guest starred on a number of TV shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Just Legal, Commander in Chief, and Numb3rs.

In 2014, Russell Wong finished shooting a horror series entitled Grace which was shot in Singapore for HBO Asia, and directed by Serangoon Road co-director Tony Tilse.

Russell Wong plays the patriarch of the family, Roy Chan.

Russell Wong played the character of Brompton in three 2020 episodes of the HBO series Westworld, and appeared as Dr Yu in the 2021 movie Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Russell Wong was married to Hong Kong-based designer Flora Cheong-Leen.

Russell Wong is the brother of Michael Wong, a Hong Kong-based actor.