François Chau
François Chau (born October 26, 1959) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's Lost,[1] Quick Kick on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Dr. Chang in the film 21 & Over, Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, and in 2015–2018, as industrialist Jules-Pierre Mao, a recurring character in Amazon's The Expanse.
François Chau | |
|---|---|
 Chau in 2023 | |
| Born | October 26, 1959 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Website | www |
Early life
Chau was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, of Chinese and Vietnamese descent.[2] When he was roughly 6 years old, he and his family moved to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). At the age of 7, Chau moved from Saigon to France due to the Vietnam War and after a year moved to Washington, D.C., United States. Chau and his family settled there, and he was also schooled there.
After he graduated from college, Chau moved out to Los Angeles where he has remained since[3] and now lives with his wife and daughter.[4]
Career
Chau has had a number of diverse roles, playing Chinese, Japanese and even Hmong characters, most notably as Dr. Martin Ng in the American sci-fi series Gemini Division, and as Dr. Pierre Chang in 17 episodes of ABC's Lost.[5]
Chau has also taken on a number of smaller TV roles. He has appeared as Koo Yin, a Chinese consul in the drama 24 and a Chinese diplomat in Stargate SG-1. He was the voice of Quick Kick on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and Dr. Shen in XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and he portrayed Lieutenant Winston 'Vagabond' Chang in the Wing Commander III and Wing Commander IV video games. He was the voice of Sensei Ishikawa in the Ghost of Tsushima video game.
Chau has appeared as a guest star in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., The Unit, NUMB3RS, ER, Baywatch, Alias, Shark, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, JAG, Medium, The X-Files, Last Man Standing, and NCIS.
He was also featured in Chris Brown's music video Fine China,[6] the 2013 film 21 & Over, the television film 9/11: The Twin Towers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, where he physically played Shredder.
His latest projects have included a Syfy production, The Expanse, starring as recurring character Jules-Pierre Mao, father of main character Julie Mao, and a recurring role as Arthur's step-father Walter on The Tick. He has also appeared in the Disney Channel spy-action comedy, K.C. Undercover, where he plays Zane, an evil villain who kidnaps K.C. and threatens to kill her family, due to a checkered history with them.
Chau portrayed mob-boss Mr. Keo in Cathy Yan's live action DC adaptation of Birds of Prey, starring Margot Robbie.[7]
Chau appeared on The George Lucas Talk Show during a fundraiser where various guests appeared for a marathon of the entirety of the seventh season of the HBO series Arli$$. In 2019 he starred in the science fiction horror film The Honeymoon Phase.[8]
Personal life
Chau is married and has a daughter.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Kusei: Endangered Species | Alien's | Voice, short film |
| Chisai Samurai | Bandit #1 | Short film | |
| 1987 | G.I. Joe: The Movie | Quick Kick | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 1989 | The Iron Triangle | Captain Duc / AVRN | |
| 1991 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze | The Shredder | Credited as Francois Chau |
| 1992 | Rapid Fire | Detective Farris | |
| 1993 | Point of No Return | Building Security Guard | |
| 1994 | Blue Tiger | Soya | |
| 1995 | No Way Back | FBI Agent Gim Takakura | |
| 1997 | Beverly Hills Ninja | Izumo | |
| City of Industry | Luke "Uncle Luke" | ||
| Wounded | Mr. Lee | ||
| Chinese Box | Mr. Wong | Uncredited | |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 | Four Father | |
| 1999 | Godzilla 2000 | Professor Yujj Shinoda | Voice, English version |
| Paper Bullets | Yang | ||
| At Face Value | Kee Sung Park | Short film | |
| 2000 | What's Cooking? | Duc Nguyen | Credited as Francois Chau |
| Deep Core | Crewmember | ||
| 2003 | Paris | Mr. Kim | |
| 2006 | Rescue Dawn | Province Governor | Credited as Francois Chau |
| No. 6 | Yoon | Short film | |
| 2007 | Orchard Orientation Film Outtakes | Dr. Edgar Halliwax | Short film Direct-to-video |
| 2009 | The Lodger | Sam | Credited as Francois Chau |
| Ingenious | Mr. Chow | ||
| Powder Blue | Butcher | Uncredited | |
| 2010 | Lost: Epilogue - The New Man in Charge | Dr. Pierre Chang | Uncredited Short film Direct-to-video |
| Deadbeat | Dad | Short film | |
| 2013 | 21 & Over | Dr. Chang | Credited as Francois Chau |
| Chris Brown: Fine China | Father / Mafia Boss | Short film Direct-to-video | |
| 2014 | Office Ninja | Kenji | |
| A Day of Havoc | Doom | Short film | |
| 2015 | The Boy Next Door | Detective Johnny Chou | Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2016 | The Last Tour | Colonel Tran | |
| 2017 | F**Ked Up | Daddy Chao | Short film Direct-to-video |
| 2019 | The Honeymoon Phase | The Director | |
| 2020 | Birds of Prey | Mr. Keo | |
| 2021 | Raya and the Last Dragon | Wahn[9] | Voice |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero | Quick Kick | Voice, 11 episodes |
| 1987 | Hill Street Blues | Emperor Leader | Episode: "A Pound of Flesh"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| 1988 | Vietnam War Story | Jojo | Episode: "Dusk to Dawn" Credited as Francois Chau |
| 1989 | Tour of Duty | Vietnamese Man | Episode: "The Volunteer" |
| The Karate Kid: The Animated Series | Additional voices | Episode: "My Brother's Keeper"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Wiseguy | — | Episode: "Battle of the Barge" | |
| 1990 | China Beach | White Mouse | Episode: "Phoenix" |
| Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes | Captain Fukuda | Television film | |
| 1991 | The Flash | Johnny Choi | Episode: "Captain Cold" Credited as Francois Chau |
| Baywatch | Tadashi | Episode: "Nightmare Bay"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| MacGyver | Chi | Episode: "The Coltons" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Reasonable Doubts | Joey | Episode: "...and Sleep Won't Come"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 1992 | Tequila and Bonetti | Gang Member | Episode: "Language of the Heart" |
| Intruders | Lab Technician | 2 episodes Television miniseries Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 1993 | Wild Palms | Hiro | 3 episodes Television miniseries |
| 1994 | Viper | Bobby Murabito | Episode: "Mind Games" |
| The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. | Aide | Episode: "And That Makes Three"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Time Trax | Cano Chan | Episode: "The Last M.I.A." | |
| 1995 | Tokyo Bound | Male Voice | Television film |
| 1996 | Shattered Mind | Resident | Television film |
| ER | Neuro Resident | Episode: "Baby Shower" | |
| Goode Behavior | — | Episode: "Goode and Fried" | |
| 1997 | ER | Neurosurgeon | Episode: "Ambush" Credited as Francois Chau |
| Melrose Place | Businessman | Episode: "The Doctor Is In... Deep" | |
| Profit | Mr. Wong | Episode: "Chinese Box" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 1998 | Night Man | Chinese Intelligence Officer | Episode: "House of Soul" |
| 1999 | Sons of Thunder | Dow Long | Episode: "Lost & Found" Credited as Francois Chau |
| Nash Bridges | Albert Lee | Episode: "High Society" | |
| 2000 | JAG | Kin Ku | Episode: "The Bridge at Kang So Ri"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| Walker, Texas Ranger | Mr. Chen | 3 episodes Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 2001 | JAG | General Shin Wa Chen | Episode: "Dog Robber"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2002 | The Invisible Man | Chen Po Li | Episode: "The Invisible Woman" |
| 2003 | Stargate: SG-1 | Chinese Ambassador | Episode: "Disclosure" |
| Dragnet | Chief Edward Laseur | Episode: "Let's Make a Deal" | |
| The Agency | Jin-Gui Kim | Episode: "Our Man in Washington" | |
| Line of Fire | Tran Mai | Episode: "Boom, Swagger, Boom" | |
| 2004 | Alias | Mr. Cho | Episode: "Crossings" |
| Helter Skelter | Dr. Noguchi | Television film | |
| North Shore | Satoshi Ohashi | Episode: "Tessa" | |
| 2005 | 24 | Consul Koo Yin | Episode: "Day 4: 2:00 a.m.–3:00 a.m." |
| 2005–2010 | Lost | Dr. Pierre Chang / Various | 17 episodes |
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Dr. Chue | Episode: "Bring the Pain"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2006 | Popcorn Zen | Bandit #1 | Episode: "#2.2" |
| 9/11: The Twin Towers | Hong Zhu | Television film | |
| Numbers | Kaj-Jan Chen | Episode: "The Mole" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 2007 | The Unit | Captain | Episode: "Sub-Conscious" Credited as Francois Chau |
| Shark | Mike Wong | Episode: "Dr. Laura" | |
| 2008 | Medium | Doctor | Episode: "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| Gemini Division | Dr. Martin Ng | 6 episodes | |
| 2009 | Gary Unmarried | Bobby Kim | Episode: "Gary and the Trophy" |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Lewis Chin | Episode: "Where There's Smoke" |
| Lost: Untangled | Dr. Pierre Chang | 2 episodes | |
| 2011 | Chuck | Guillermo Chan | Episode: "Chuck Versus the First Bank of Evil"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| The Chicago Code | Chairman Lau | Episode: "O'Leary's Cow" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Franklin & Bash | Mr. Han | Episode: "Jennifer of Troy"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Childrens Hospital | Mr. Lee | Episode: "Nip/Tug" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Castle | Clifford Lee | Episode: "Kick the Ballistics"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Charlie's Angels | Frankie Han | Episode: "They Are Not Saints"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 2012 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Binh Tran | Episode: "The Dragon and the Fairy" |
| Awake | John Koh | Episode: "Game Day" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| BFFs | Jessica's Father | 2 episodes | |
| 2013 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Dr. Chan | Episode: "It's a Miracle" Credited as Francois Chau |
| Body of Proof | Chinese Consolate | Episode: "Disappearing Act" | |
| Nikita | Dr. Kang | Episode: "Til Death Do Us Part" | |
| Childrens Hospital | Kaiju | Episode: "Triangles" Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Aqua Teen Hunger Force | Bill | Episode: "Storage Zeebles" | |
| The Mentalist | Mr. Nguyen | Episode: "Green Thumb" | |
| The Ordained | Howard Ping | Television film | |
| 2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Gary 'Aikupu | Episode: "Ma lalo o ka 'ili" |
| Rizzoli & Isles | Harold Chen | Episode: "If You Can't Stand the Heat"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Criminal Minds | Dr. Jack Chun | Episode: "The Itch" | |
| Bones | Victor Lee | Episode: "The Lost Love in the Foreign Land"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| 2015 | Major Crimes | Raymond Phan | Episode: "Four of a Kind" Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2015–2017 | K.C. Undercover | Zane | 7 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | The Expanse | Jules-Pierre Mao | 13 episodes Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2016 | Aquarius | South Vietnamese Consul | Episode: "When My Guitar Gently Weeps" |
| Berlin Station | Peter Shipley | Episode: "Station to Station"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| Grand Junction | Jae Kim | Television film | |
| 2017 | MacGyver | Richard Sang | Episode: "Compass" Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2017–2019 | The Tick | Walter | 10 episodes Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2018 | The X-Files | Peter Wong | Episode: "Ghouli" |
| 2018–2021 | Last Man Standing | Henry | 3 episodes Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2019 | NCIS | Henry Deng | Episode: "Bears and Cubs" Credited as Francois Chau |
| Veronica Mars | Hu | Episode: "Spring Break Forever"
Credited as Francois Chau | |
| No Good Nick | Detective Pham | Episode: "The Fool's Errand" | |
| Room 104 | Dr. Blake | Episode: "Itchy" | |
| How to Get Away with Murder | Carl's Lawyer | Episode: "I Hate the World" | |
| 2020 | Magnum, P.I. | Kinny | Episode: "A Game of Cat and Mouse"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| Space Command | Jerome Kiriyama | Episode: "Ripple Effect" | |
| (home)Schooled | Principal Coleman | Television film | |
| 2021 | Fantasy Island | Brent Lee | Episode: "His and Hers/The Heartbreak Hotel" |
| The Good Doctor | Leonard Song | Episode: "Crazytown" | |
| 2022 | Chicago Med | Patrick Choi | Episode: "What You Don't Know Can't Hurt You"
Credited as Francois Chau |
| American Gigolo | Don Clyborne | 4 episodes | |
| 2023 | Quantum Leap | Lewis Tan | Episode: "Paging Dr. Song" |
| Law & Order: Organized Crime | Michael Quan | 2 episodes | |
| Barry | Bong | 3 episodes | |
| TBA | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Great Sage | Upcoming series[10] |
| TBA | The Penguin | Upcoming series |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger | Lieutenant Winston "Vagabond" Chang (live action) | |
| 1995 | Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom | ||
| 2000 | Starlancer | Ronin Wing Leader | |
| 2012 | XCOM: Enemy Unknown | Dr. Raymond Shen | Credited as Francois Chau |
| 2016 | XCOM 2 | ||
| 2020 | Ghost of Tsushima | Sensei Sadanobu Ishikawa | Voice and motion capture[11][12] |
| 2023 | The Expanse: A Telltale Series | Jules-Pierre Mao | Voice |
Awards and nominations
- 2011 Ovation Awards: Nominated for Featured Actor in a Play for the role of Dr. Heng in the Geffen Playhouse production of "Extraordinary Chambers"[13]
References
- Hoschartner, Jon (March 30, 2017). "Actor From Lost Describes Show's Production". Splice Today. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "François Chau".
- "Interview with Chau". Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 11 September 2013 – via YouTube.
- "Interview with Chau on AA Risings". Archived from the original on 2008-03-28.
- "Pierre Chang". Lost.about.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- "Watch: Chris Brown's new song 'Fine China' is Michael Jackson meeting racial conflict: Watch". Immaculate Noise. Hitfix Music. 1 April 2013. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- D'Alessandro, Anthony (2018-12-11). "Chris Messina Joins Warner Bros/DC's 'Birds Of Prey' As Bad Guy Victor Zsasz". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
- "Horror Feature: Interview with Phillip G. Carroll Jr. writer and director of The Honeymoon Phase". The Horror Channel. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
- Evangelista, Chris (March 4, 2021). "'Raya and the Last Dragon' Production Diaries: Kelly Marie Tran Reveals Her Makeshift At-Home Recording Studio". www.slashfilm.com. Slash Film. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- Williams, Caleb (August 24, 2022). "François Chau & Ryan Mah Join Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' as Fire Nation Members". Knight Edge Media. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
- Archer, Callum (September 6, 2020). "In-Game Vs Reality: What Ghost of Tsushima Characters Look Like In Real Life". www.thegamer.com. The Gamer. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- Ames, Jeff (July 22, 2020). "Ghost of Tsushima Review: An Engaging & Dazzling New World". www.comingsoon.net. ComingSoon.Net. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
- "Kiss Me Kate Tops 2011 Ovation Award Nominations". 19 September 2011.
