Olivia Cheng () is a Canadian actress, broadcast journalist, and former correspondent for Entertainment Tonight Canada. Some of her roles include concubine Mei Lin in Marco Polo,"How Olivia Cheng - the breakout star of Netflix's Marco Polo - is recasting the role of the submissive concubine" by Marsha Lederman at www.theglobeandmail.com sinister Master Gao in Deadly Class,"‘Deadly Class’ Gets Early 2019 Debut Date; New Teaser & Castings – New York Comic Con" by Dominic Patten, Dino-Ray Ramos at deadline.com Ah Toy (a madam in San Francisco's Chinatown with a secret violent life) in the 1870s-set martial arts crime drama series Warrior, Dr. Sylvia Wen (Boulder Free Zone's main doctor) in the 2021 adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand"Why Dr. Wen From The Stand Looks So Familiar" by Devon Forward at www.looper.com and warrior Charlotte in the dystopian series See."Edmonton-born Olivia Cheng brings both ferocity and compassion to TV's Warrior and SEE" by Fish Griwkowsky at edmontonjournal.com
Early life Cheng was born in Edmonton, Alberta,"Why this actress was afraid of money" by Emily Mathieu at www.thestar.com to parents who immigrated from Guangdong. They were part of a co-founding group of Chinese parents that created the Edmonton Mandarin Bilingual program within the city's public school system. Her father worked in software and her mother was a health aide.
Cheng enrolled in her first acting class at the age of six and booked her first commercial at nineteen. The following year, she attended NAIT's Radio and Television Arts program. After finishing school, she became a videographer for Global TV Lethbridge, before moving back to Edmonton to work as a broadcast and print journalist. She went on to freelance as a correspondent for ET Canada.
Career In the mid-2000s, AMC was launching its original content division and came to Alberta with a Walter Hill-helmed mini-series executive produced by Robert Duvall. They were looking for five Chinese actresses and were willing to consider amateurs. Duvall saw Cheng's audition and asked to bring her back. She was then cast in Broken Trail (2006), which was nominated for 16 Primetime Emmy Awards and won four, including the Emmy for Outstanding Mini Series.
In 2007, Cheng portrayed Iris Chang in the documentary Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking, based on Chang's best-selling 1997 book The Rape of Nanking."A woman who cried for justice" by Erik Nilsson at www.chinadaily.com.cn
Cheng has appeared in Supernatural and Eureka, as well as in the episode "The New World" of the television show The 4400. In 2013, she appeared as Linda Park in the TV series Arrow.
In 2014, Cheng landed a role in Netflix's series Marco Polo, a lavish television drama about Marco Polo's journey as he travels from his home in Venice to the court of Kublai Khan, where he finds himself in the middle of a war in 13th-century China. The show was one of the most expensive TV series ever produced. Cheng portrayed Mei Lin, a Song dynasty concubine and assassin, and the sister of Jia Sidao. In a December 2014 interview, Cheng joked that owing to her frequent nude scenes in Marco Polo, she would not be watching the series with her parents.
In October 2017, it was announced Cheng would be part of the main cast of the Justin Lin-produced Warrior, set against the backdrop of the Tong Wars of San Francisco. In the series Cheng portrays Ah Toy, a madam in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1870s, which is a fictionalised version of the real Ah Toy."Warrior's Olivia Cheng on Bringing Activism to Her Art" by Brea Baker at www.elle.com The series, based on an original idea by the late Bruce Lee,"‘Warrior’ Renewed for Season 2 on Cinemax" by Rick Porter at www.hollywoodreporter.com premiered on Cinemax on April 5, 2019.
Filmography YearFilm/TV SeriesRole Notes2000Shanghai NoonDim Sum Girl #1Uncredited2002MentorsBeautiful GirlEpisode – "Enter the Monolith"2003Hollywood Wives :The New GenerationGirlfriend #1TV movieWord of HonorReporterTV movie2004 12 Days of Christmas EveJenna LeeTV movie2005 The Christmas BlessingAnaesthetistTV movie2006Goose on the LooseTerry MacNeilTV movie The 4400Wheat Field ReporterEpisode – "The New World"Broken TrailYe Fung aka #4TV Miniseries2007PsychBad NannyEpisode – "Rob-a-Bye Baby"Blood TiesWynterEpisode – "Bugged"Iris Chang: The Rape of NankingIris ChangDocumentary2008 The Art of War II: BetrayalGeenaDirect-to-DVD2009High NoonDet. Liz AlbertaTV movieSomething Evil ComesTaraTV movie2010 The Staff RoomMs. VuEurekaDr. Lisa WheelerEpisode – "Crossing Over"ShatteredGrace RossiEpisode – "Everyone's a Hostage to Someone"Messages DeletedMyrnaOn Strike for ChristmasTelevision ReporterTV movie2011FringeVictoria DiMiriEpisode – "The Firefly"Hunt for the I-5 KillerYoung WomanTV movieFlashpointRuby MaiEpisode – "A Call to Arms" The HouseKatie2011–2012SupernaturalSusan / Leviathan3 episodes2012Arctic AirEva LamEpisode – "Vancouver Is Such a Screwed Up City"Fairly LegalSullivanEpisode – "Ripple of Hope"Broken TrustGraceTV movie A Killer Among UsMiss HetheringtonLibelleJasmin LuIt's Christmas, Carol!Kendra2013Assault on Wall StreetTV HostSigned, Sealed, DeliveredNewspersonEmbrace of the VampireKellyGuess Who's Coming to ChristmasChealseaTV movieBlinkHannah DuncanTV movie2013, 2017ArrowLinda Park2 episodes2014 The FlashEpisode – "Pilot" (archive footage)Skye and ChangEmily ChangTV movie"Skye & Chang pilot to begin production June 9" by Danielle Ng See Quan at playbackonline.ca"Inside APTN's rule-breaking sci-fi drama Skye & Chang" by Etan Vlessing at playbackonline.caStolen from the WombNicoleTV filmShamedMichelle KimDeeperSusan2014–2016Marco PoloMei Lin19 episodes2015Marco Polo: One Hundred EyesTV Short2016Mission NinetyTwo: DragonflyJasmine Chang2019Deadly ClassMaster GaoRecurring role2019–2023WarriorAh ToySeries Regular2020 The StandDr. Sylvia WenTV Miniseries2021–2022SeeCharlotteSeries Regular2024Lucky StarNoel2025 The Chinatown DinerConnie2026Ready or Not 2: Here I ComeWan Chen Xing
References
External links
Olivia Cheng • 鄭啟蕙 instagram Olivia Cheng on Facebook Olivia Cheng on Twitter