Tzi Ma (born June 10, 1962) () is a Hong Kong actor. He has appeared in television shows including The Man in the High Castle and 24, and films including Dante's Peak, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 3, Arrival, The Farewell, Tigertail, and Mulan. From 2021 to 2023, he starred in the American martial arts television series Kung Fu on The CW.
Early life and education 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, Ho Wah, in Staten Island. According to Ma, immigration activist Lau Sing Kee previously operated the restaurant. Ma found his love for acting when he played Buffalo Bill in an elementary school production of Annie Get Your Gun.
Career
Ma has deep ties to theatre. He cites Mako's performance in Pacific Overtures in 1976 as a major influence on his acting career. 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).
During the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, Ma found work at South Coast Repertory in Orange County playing various characters in the play, In Perpetuity Throughout the Universe. The play closed the weekend the strike ended, and by the following week, he had secured a role in the L.A. Law television series. In 1994, he was the assistant director on a stage production of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior by the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
His major film roles include credits in The Quiet American, the remake of The Ladykillers, Dante's Peak, and Tigertail. Additionally, he has appeared as Consul Han in the Rush Hour series, General Shang, the commander of the Chinese military in Denis Villeneuve's Arrival (2016), and Hua Zhou in Niki Caro's Disney live-action adaptation of Mulan (2020).
Ma has appeared in numerous Asian American-produced independent films, such as Red Doors, Catfish in Black Bean Sauce (1999), Baby (2007), The Sensei (2008), and The Farewell (2019).
Ma was interviewed for The Slanted Screen (2006), a documentary directed by Jeff Adachi about the representation of Asian, primarily East Asian, men in Hollywood.
Television Ma had a recurring role as Cheng Zhi, the head of security for the Chinese Consulate (Los Angeles), on the television series 24, first appearing in the series's fourth season and reprising the role in 24: Live Another Day. He also voiced Bàba Ling, Francine's adoptive father, in the animated TV series American Dad!
He also had a role in the first season of Martial Law as Lee "Nemesis" Hei, first major antagonist and Sammo Law's arch-nemesis.
Ma's other TV credits include guest appearances on MacGyver, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, ER, Boomtown, Commander in Chief, Chicago Hope, The Unit, Star Trek: The Next Generation, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue, Millennium, Fringe, Cold Case, NCIS: Los Angeles, Hawaii Five-0, Lie to Me, The Cosby Show, Grey's Anatomy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hell on Wheels. Ma also had a voice role in the video game Sleeping Dogs. He also appeared on the ABC series Once Upon a Time as "The Dragon". He also appeared as a zen master on the USA series Satisfaction.
He appeared as General Onoda in the Amazon show The Man In The High Castle and as Tao on AMC’s Hell On Wheels. In July 2018, it was announced that Ma was cast in the recurring role of Mr. Young on the Netflix series Wu Assassins.
In 2020, Ma was cast as a series regular in The CW's modern reboot of Kung Fu (1972). The show was renewed for a second season in May 2021.
Filmography Film YearTitleRoleNotes1979Cocaine CowboysJimmy LeeFilm debut1981They All LaughedExtraUncredited1986The Money PitHwang1990RoboCop 2Tak Akita1992Rapid FireKinman Tau1993Golden GateChen Jung Song1995Make a Wish, MollyDavid WongShort film1996Chain ReactionLu Chen1997Dante's PeakStanRed CornerLi Cheng1998Rush HourSolon Han1999Catfish in Black Bean SauceVinh2002The Quiet AmericanHinh2004The LadykillersThe General2005Red DoorsEd Wong2006Akeelah and the BeeMr. Chiu2007BabyPopsRush Hour 3Solon HanBattle in SeattleThe Governor2008The SenseiBuddhist MonkManagementTruc QuocAll God's Children Can DanceGlen2009Formosa BetrayedKuo2012The CampaignMr. Zheng2013Mad in ChinatownHangmanShort film2014A Good ManMr. ChenMillion Dollar ArmChangSuturesJimShort film2015DiabloQuok MiBaby StepsMr. LinPali RoadArnold Zhang2016ArrivalGeneral Shang2017Meditation ParkBingThe Jade PendantYu Hing2018SkyscraperFire Chief Zheng 2019The Farewell Haiyan Wang2020Mulan Hua ZhouTigertail Pin-JuiThe Kid DetectiveMr. Chang2022A Father's SonKrang LiShort film 2025 Gunslingers LinThe Chinatown DinerMr. Meng2026Whatcha WantMing
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1984The Cosby ShowMr. LeeEpisode: "Father's Day"1985The EqualizerLin Episode: "China Rain"1989L.A. LawEd ChangEpisode: "Victor/Victorious"Star Trek: The Next GenerationPhysiologistEpisode: "Samaritan Snare"MacGyverWing LeeEpisode: "Children of Light"1990Yellowthread StreetDetective Eddie Pak6 episodesForbidden NightsLi DaoTelevision filmMidnight CallerArthur ChangEpisode: "The Language Barrier"Head of the ClassKwongEpisode: "Be My Baby... Sitter"1993Street JusticeBryn To ChiEpisode: "Honor and Trust"1994The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.ChanEpisode: "And Baby Makes Three"1996JAGInspector ChangEpisode: "The Prisoner"1994–2001NYPD BlueDetective Harold Ng3 episodes1996–2000Nash BridgesJimmy Zee1998–1999Martial LawLee Hei5 episodes1998–1999MillenniumDr. TakashiCapt. Youfook Law2 episodes2000Chicago HopeMr. WangEpisode: "Hanlon's Choice"The PretenderKi Mok/Chen ThonEpisode: "The Agent of Year Zero"City of AngelsDr. Henry Lu4 episodesWalker, Texas RangerGeneral NimhEpisode: "The General's Return"2001Gideon's CrossingDr. To2 episodes2002The Bernie Mac ShowEdEpisode: "Mac 101"ERLiam YoungEpisode: "Tell Me Where It Hurts"BoomtownRoger LamEpisode: "The David McNorris Show"Law & OrderLi ChenEpisode: "The Wheel"2003The PracticeTang JingyuEpisode: "Equal Justice"2004Jake 2.0Nanda SangEpisode: "Upgrade"HawaiiJoseph DaoEpisode: "No Man Is an Island"2005JAGAdmiral LutarnoEpisode: "Straits of Malacca"2005–200724Cheng Zhi13 episodes2006Commander in ChiefChinese Ambassador2 episodesThe UnitRudolph HatanoEpisode: "200th Hour"DeadwoodMahjong PlayerEpisode: "True Colors"2007Dragon BoysHenry Wah2 episodes2007–2013American Dad!Bah Bah LingVoice role; 10 episodes2008Grey's AnatomyPattersonEpisode: "All by Myself"2009The BeastKim NamEpisode: "Bitsy Big-Boy"Dirty Sexy MoneyTsung Shien ChunEpisode: "The Bad Guy"Cold CaseBo-Lin Chen '09Episode: "Chinatown"FringeMing CheEpisode: "Snakehead"DollhouseMatsuEpisode: "The Attic"2010NCIS: Los AngelesJun LeeEpisode: "Chinatown"Lie to MeMr. ChenEpisode: "Teacher and Pupils"The Whole TruthJudge GarrettEpisode: "When Cougars Attack"2011Hawaii Five-OChiEpisode: "He Kane Hewa' Ole (An Innocent Man)"CHAOSQuonEpisode: "Two Percent"2012PerceptionProfessor Arthur WeiEpisode: "Cipher"VegasWatanabeEpisode: "Estinto"2013Saving HopeDr. LinEpisode: "The Face of the Giant Panda"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Agent QuanEpisode: "Girl in the Flower Dress"2013–2016Once Upon a TimeThe Dragon3 episodes201424: Live Another DayCheng ZhiState of AffairsPremier Chu JianEpisode: "Half the Sky"2014–2015SatisfactionZen MasterFrank9 episodes2015Hell on WheelsTao6 episodes2016ElementaryXi Hai ChingEpisode: "Who Is That Masked Man?"Man Seeking WomanMaster ShengEpisode: "Eel"StitchersDe DesheiEpisode: "The Dying Shame"Angie TribecaJoseph TakagiEpisode: "Miso Dead"The Man in the High CastleGeneral Onoda6 episodes2016–2017VeepLu Chi-Jung3 episodes2017RansomSenator VangEpisode: "Say What You Did"The CatchKenji YoshidaEpisode: "The Hammer"Criminal Minds: Beyond BordersInspector CheongEpisode: "Cinderella and the Dragon"2018Silicon ValleyFactory owner Yao3 episodesThe ResidentTed ZhouEpisode: "Haunted"2018–2019Star Wars ResistanceSenator Hamato XionoVoice role; 2 episodes 2019Wu Assassins Mr. Young 6 episodes 2020Bosch Brent Charles 2 episodesA Sugar & Spice HolidayPete YungTelevision film 2021–2023Kung Fu Jin Chen39 episodes 2024Interior Chinatown Joe Wu 2025–2026InvincibleMr. LiuVoice role2025WatsonUncle JuEpisodes: "Back from the Dead" and "Giant Steps"
Awards Ma has received awards for his acting roles including the Cine Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor for The Dance and The Railroad and the Garland Award for his acting in Flower Drum Song.
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