Tzi Ma (Chinese: 馬泰; born June 10, 1962) is a Hong Kong-American
actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as The
Man in the High Castle and 24, and films, such as Dante's Peak, Rush
Hour, Rush Hour 3, Arrival, The Farewell, and Tigertail.Ma was born in
Hong Kong, the youngest of seven children. In 1949, Ma's father moved
to Hong Kong following the Chinese Communist Revolution and then to
the United States when Ma was five years old following political
turmoil in Hong Kong. Ma grew up in New York, where his parents ran an
American Chinese restaurant in Staten Island. He found his love for
acting when he played Buffalo Bill in an elementary school production
of Annie Get Your Gun.Although often referred to as the familiar Asian
face in film and television, Ma has deep ties to theatre. He cites
Mako's performance in Pacific Overtures in 1976 as a major influence
on his acting career. And he is close friends with playwright David
Henry Hwang, having collaborated with him on several plays, such as
FOB, Yellow Face, Flower Drum Song, and The Dance and the Railroad,
throughout the years and starring in the film, Golden Gate (1993),
which was written by Hwang. Ma started professionally acting in 1973
through experimental theater. At that time, he was in a residency at
Nassau Community College studying acting and teaching movement. His
first theatre performance was in 1975 at an outdoor theater in
Roosevelt State Park as the Monkey King in a stage adaptation of a
Beijing opera titled, Monkey King in the Yellow Stone King. He
estimated that there were about 5 to 10 thousand audience members in
attendance.Ma also practiced martial arts prior to doing film work. He
leveraged those skills in his film debut as Jimmy Lee in Cocaine
Cowboys (1979).
actor. He is well known for his roles in television shows, such as The
Man in the High Castle and 24, and films, such as Dante's Peak, Rush
Hour, Rush Hour 3, Arrival, The Farewell, and Tigertail.Ma was born in
Hong Kong, the youngest of seven children. In 1949, Ma's father moved
to Hong Kong following the Chinese Communist Revolution and then to
the United States when Ma was five years old following political
turmoil in Hong Kong. Ma grew up in New York, where his parents ran an
American Chinese restaurant in Staten Island. He found his love for
acting when he played Buffalo Bill in an elementary school production
of Annie Get Your Gun.Although often referred to as the familiar Asian
face in film and television, Ma has deep ties to theatre. He cites
Mako's performance in Pacific Overtures in 1976 as a major influence
on his acting career. And he is close friends with playwright David
Henry Hwang, having collaborated with him on several plays, such as
FOB, Yellow Face, Flower Drum Song, and The Dance and the Railroad,
throughout the years and starring in the film, Golden Gate (1993),
which was written by Hwang. Ma started professionally acting in 1973
through experimental theater. At that time, he was in a residency at
Nassau Community College studying acting and teaching movement. His
first theatre performance was in 1975 at an outdoor theater in
Roosevelt State Park as the Monkey King in a stage adaptation of a
Beijing opera titled, Monkey King in the Yellow Stone King. He
estimated that there were about 5 to 10 thousand audience members in
attendance.Ma also practiced martial arts prior to doing film work. He
leveraged those skills in his film debut as Jimmy Lee in Cocaine
Cowboys (1979).
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