Marcus Chong facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marcus Chong
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Born |
Marcus Scott Wyatt
July 8, 1967 |
Years active | 1977–2013 |
Notable work
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Marcus Scott Chong (né Wyatt; born July 8, 1967) is an American actor. He played Miguel Mendez in the crime drama, Street Justice (1991–1993), real-life activist Huey P. Newton in Panther (1995), directed by Mario Van Peebles, and Tank in The Matrix (1999), directed by The Wachowskis.
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Early life
Chong was born in Seattle on July 8, 1967, to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. His biological father, Martin Wyatt, was a sports reporter in San Francisco for KGO-TV. He was adopted by Tommy and Shelby Chong in 1978.
Career
Chong began acting at age nine. His first role was portraying the young Frankie Warner in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979). He was a guest star in Little House on the Prairie, in "Blind Journey: Part 2".
Chong originated the role of student Lee Cortez in the Broadway production of Stand-Up Tragedy, written by Bill Cain, which opened at the Criterion Center Stage Right and closed in October 1990 after 13 performances. The short-lived role nevertheless earned him a 1991 Theatre World Award; he was also nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.
In the early 1990s, Chong played the recurring character Miguel Mendez on the TV show Street Justice from 1991 to 1993. By 1994, he later appeared in the action series Vanishing Son as Fu Qua Johnson alongside many actors of Asian descent. In 1995, he appeared in the music video for "Temptations" with Coolio, Ice-T, and Jada Pinkett Smith.
In 1999, Chong appeared as Tank in The Matrix. Throughout the 2000s decade and briefly the 2010s, Chong has appeared in popular TV shows in supporting guest roles. In 2001, he appeared in the third season of the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and in 2002, appeared in the first season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2009, he appeared in the sixth season of Numb3rs and in 2010, he had a role in the fourth season of Burn Notice.
Chong's last feature film role was in the 2005 movie The Crow: Wicked Prayer as a character named War. The film was released briefly in theaters in Chong's hometown of Seattle, Washington. Following this, he's appeared in multiple short films: "Concrete River" (2009), "Son Shine" (2013), and "Not 4 Sale" (2013); the latter in which he plays legendary actor Harry Belafonte. Following the last short film Not 4 Sale, Chong has had no acting roles since.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1980 | The Reference Section | Lead | Short film |
1980 | Cheech & Chong's Next Movie | Johnny | |
1980 | Blood Beach | 2nd kid | |
1988 | Evil Altar | Troy Long | |
1990 | The Knife and Gun Club | George | Television film |
1991 | Flight of Black Angel | 'Dragonfly' | |
1992 | Venice/Venice | Guest at party | |
1992 | American Heart | Terry Cosmos | |
1994 | Vanishing Son | Fu Qua Johnson | Television film |
1994 | Vanishing Son II | ||
1994 | Vanishing Son IV | ||
1995 | Panther | Huey Newton | |
1996 | Pure Danger | 'Freethrow' | Direct-to-video |
1997 | The Uncontrollable Professor | Chucky | |
1997 | Fatal Fight | Kevin | |
1998 | High Freakquency | Jordan Barnes | |
1999 | The Matrix | Tank | |
2005 | The Crow: Wicked Prayer | 'War' | |
2009 | Concrete River | Base | Short film |
2013 | Son Shine | Darrell Brown | Short film |
2013 | Not 4 Sale | Harry Belafonte | Short film; also associate producer |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1978 | Little House on the Prairie | Samson | Episode: "Blind Journey: Part 2" |
1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Frankie Warner | 2 episodes |
1979 | The Lazarus Syndrome | Jerry | Episode: "Peace and Love, Willie Jackson" |
1979 | Dallas | Jimmy Monroe | Episode: "The Heiress" |
1982 | Diff'rent Strokes | Kid at the arcade | Episode: "Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade" |
1982 | The Facts of Life | Young Boy | Episode: "Starstruck" |
1989 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | Tim | Episode: "The Way Home" |
1989 | Dragnet | Billy Roberts | Episode: "The Connection" |
1991–1993 | Street Justice | Miguel Mendez | 24 episodes |
1995 | Chicago Hope | Ramsey Coleman | Episode: "A Coupla Stiffs" |
2000 | Linc's | Ken | Episode: "People Like Us" |
2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Darrell Guan | Episode: "Inheritance" |
2002 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Johnny West | Episode: "Seizure" |
2009 | Numb3rs | Jones | Episode: "Ultimatum" |
2010 | Burn Notice | Caleb | Episode: "Brotherly Love" |