Zen Chong Explained

Zen Chong
Birth Name:Chong Cheng Xiong
Birth Date:1978 8, df=yes
Birth Place:Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
Years Active:2001–present
Children:2
Module2:
Child:yes
Hide:no
Headercolor:lightblue
Order:st
Name1:Current stage name
S:章证翔
T:章證翔
P:Zhāng Zhèngxiáng
Also Known As:Birth name
T2:章增祥
S2:章增祥[1]
P2:Zhāng Zēngxiáng
Altname3:Former stage name
S3:章缜翔
T3:章縝翔
P3:Zhang Zhěnxiáng

Zen Chong (born Chong Cheng Xiong; 15 August 1978), formerly known as Zzen Chong, is a Malaysian actor and property agent who is based in Singapore.

Early life

A native of the "New Villages" in Kuala Lumpur, Chong studied graphic design and worked at an advertising agency prior to joining Star Search Malaysia.[2]

Career

Chong joined MediaCorp in 2001 after finishing third in that year's Malaysian edition of Star Search Singapore.[3] One of his first major roles was in the 2003 sitcom Lobang King where he was cast alongside veteran artistes Chew Chor Meng, Huang Wenyong and Irene Ang as the smooth-talking employee of Huang's character.

Chong is known for portraying juvenile "ah beng" characters, antiheroes and villains. He shot to fame for his role as the main antagonist in the hit period drama The Little Nyonya.[4] Although initially a replacement for Andrew Seow, he was praised for his convincing portrayal of antagonist Robert Zhang and won a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2009 Star Awards, his first ever awards nomination.[5] He was given his first lead role in the 2008 co-production The Thin Line.

Personal life

He married his long-time girlfriend Geline See in January 2011.[6] Chong and his wife have a daughter and a son.[7]

In 2012, it was revealed during the release of The Quarters that Chong changed a character in his Chinese name after consulting with a fortune teller. His English name was changed as well, from Zzen Chong to Zen Chong. He has also converted to part-time acting and since become a full-time property agent.[8]

Filmography

Television series

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002 The VagrantZhang Disheng
Kopi-O II Hong Fuxing
2003 Lobang King Hong Daji
True Heroes Wang Wei
Baby Boom James
Beautiful Trio Colin
Home in Toa PayohDino
2004 An Ode to LifeZhang Ruixiang
2005 Zero to HeroPing
Beyond the aXis of Truth II Woody
Love ConciergeRuan Yawan
2006 The Shining StarAh Pao
Women of TimesBruce
Love at 0°CVictor
2007 Switched! Jiang Zhiheng
Fallen Angel Chen Xuewen
2008 Where the Heart Is Hong Jiajun
Rhythm of Life Wang Tianbao
The Thin Line Chen Tianyou
The Little Nyonya Robert Zhang [9]
Zhang Zuye
2009 My Kampong DaysQiao Junwei
2010 Priceless WonderLi Caishun
UnriddleYu Zhenbang
InjusticeLin Shunyuan
2011 Be Happy Ken See
Dark Sunset Qiu Jiawei
2012 Yours FatefullyHong Zhiguo
The Quarters Luo Hanguo
Poetic Justice Eugene
Game Plan Li Ziguang
2013 It's a Wonderful Life Li Siyuan
Sudden Zhang Hongxing
2014 C.L.I.F. 3 Ding Youpeng
2015 Crescendo Zhang Shixin
2016 House of Fortune Henry
The Queen Chen Zijian
Soul Reaper (勾魂使者) Eddy
118 II Qiu Jianguo
2018 118 Reunion (118 大团圆)
Eat Already? 4 Weijie
Say Cheese Pan Zemin
Magic Chef (料理人生) Kenneth
2019 After the Stars (攻星计) Qingfeng
2020Super Dad (男神不败)Yang Sheng
2021 CTRL He Shaoguang
2022 Dark Angel (黑天使) Zhang Haohui
2023 Fix My Life Ye Tingfeng
All That Glitters Roy
Stranger in the Dark (熟悉的陌生人) Adam [10]

Variety shows

YearTitleNotes
2002 King of Variety
2006 Battle of the Best
2009 Stars for a Cause
2010 Let's Party With Food! VII Guest appearance
2022 A Night Under the Stars Guest appearance
2023 The Reunion Guest appearance

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work ResultRef
2009 Star AwardsThe Little Nyonya
2011 Star AwardsBest Supporting ActorUnriddle

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 艺人改名就改运?信不信由你!_wkh73_新浪博客 . blog.sina.com.cn . 9 September 2023.
  2. News: zh:不回家铁链绑上车 章缜翔越鞭越皮. http://www.nanyang.com/node/402090. Nanyang Siang Pau. 29 November 2011. Chinese. 21 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120141/http://www.nanyang.com/node/402090. 26 August 2014. dead.
  3. News: Talented wannabes. New Straits Times. 8 June 2001.
  4. News: Zzen and the Art of Acting. https://archive.today/20130119002154/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainmentfeatures/view/1035579/1/.html. dead. 19 January 2013. Channel News Asia. 8 February 2010.
  5. News: Andrew Seow helps HIV-positive friend. AsiaOne. 17 July 2009. 11 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20090722111103/http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Showbiz/Story/A1Story20090716-155206.html. 22 July 2009. dead.
  6. News: Zzen Zhang's 'messy' wedding. Channel News Asia. 19 January 2011.
  7. Web site: 'He scolded me and beat me quite often': Zen Chong lacked father's love in childhood, now tries to be different for own kids . AsiaOne . 9 September 2023 . en . 11 August 2022.
  8. News: 24 August 2012 . 梁丽芳章缜翔"隐姓埋名"改运途 . Chinese . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120830064838/http://www.zaobao.com.sg/fk/yu120824_004.shtml . 30 August 2012.
  9. Web site: Zen Chong Says People Still Call Him The Little Nyonya’s Robert Zhang, 15 Years After The Show Aired . 2023-09-11 . 8days . en.
  10. Web site: 潘 . 雪忆 . 《熟悉的陌生人》大胆起用新脸孔 萧歆霓、王硕瀚、卓芳娴首挑大梁 . 8world Entertainment Lifestyle . 22 September 2023 . zh-SG . 22 September 2023.