Michael Paul Chan
Michael Paul Chan (born June 26, 1950) is an American actor.[1] He is known for his role as Lieutenant Michael Tao on the TNT series The Closer and Major Crimes. Chan also acted in U.S. Marshals, playing an assassin.[2]
Michael Paul Chan | |
---|---|
Born | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1975–present |
Spouse |
Christina Ann (m. 1975) |
Children | 1 |
Biography
Chan was born in San Francisco, California. A third-generation Chinese American, he is a founding member of the Asian American Theater Company. His brother was the late Jeffery Paul Chan, an author and academic.
Chan's television work has included roles such as Judge Lionel Ping on Arrested Development, Detective Ron Lu on Robbery Homicide Division, the voice of Jimmy Ho on The PJ's, Mr. Chong on The Wonder Years, a Japanese investor in the 1990 Northern Exposure episode "Dreams, Schemes and Putting Greens", an agent of the Chinese Intelligence Agency on a 2011 episode of The Simpsons, and roles on Bones, Babylon 5, Nash Bridges, and The Young and the Restless.
One of Chan's more notable film roles was as the Korean convenience-store owner in the 1993 film Falling Down, where he refused to give a discount to Michael Douglas' character when he attempted to purchase a can of soda to get change for the pay telephone outside the store. Another was as Data's father in The Goonies. Chan appeared in both of Joel Schumacher's Batman movies, in two different roles - a Wayne Enterprises executive in Batman Forever, and Dr. Lee in Batman & Robin. Other films in his filmography include Americanese, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, U.S. Marshals, Spy Game, The Protector, Quicksilver, The Joy Luck Club, The Insider, and Thief.
Filmography
- Thief (1981, Movie)
- The Goonies (1985, Movie)
- Hill Street Blues (1985, TV Series)
- Quicksilver (1986, Movie)
- The Wonder Years (1988–1993, TV Series)
- Thousand Pieces of Gold (1991, Movie)
- The Joy Luck Club (1993, Movie)
- Falling Down (1993, Movie)
- Joshua Tree (1993, Movie)
- Babylon 5 (1994–1998, TV Series)
- JAG (1995, TV series)
- Batman Forever (1995, Movie)
- Nash Bridges (1996–2001, TV Series)
- Batman & Robin (1997, Movie)
- The Protector (1997, Movie)
- U.S. Marshals (1998, Movie)
- The Insider (1999, Movie)
- The Young and the Restless (TV Series)
- Americanese (2006, Movie)
- Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001, Movie)
- Spy Game (2001, Movie)
- Robbery Homicide Division (2002–2003, TV Series)
- Arrested Development (2003–2006, TV Series)
- The Closer (2005–2012, TV Series) – Lt. Tao
- Bones (2005–2017, TV Series)
- Major Crimes (2012–2018, TV Series) – Lt. Tao
- MacGyver (2021, TV Series) – Dollar Tan
- Hello Tomorrow! (2023, TV Series) - Walt
References
- "Michael Paul Chan". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2015. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015.
- Hale, Mike (August 12, 2012). "The New Boss, Not the Same as the Old Boss 'Major Crimes' Replaces 'The Closer' on TNT". The New York Times.