Chang Chen (born 14 October 1976) is a Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in A Brighter Summer Day (1991), Happy Together (1997), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Three Times (2005), Brotherhood of Blades (2014), The Assassin (2015) and The Soul (2021). For his performance in The Soul, he won Best Leading Actor prize at the 58th Golden Horse Awards.
Career Chang started his film career at a young age. He was selected by a Taiwanese film director Edward Yang to be the protagonist of a four-hour-long critically acclaimed film A Brighter Summer Day, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival. After the first film, he took a part-time job at a film company and worked there for two years until he graduated from high school.
One of the earliest films Chang acted in was Wong Kar-wai's Happy Together (1997). He rose to fame for his role as "Dark Cloud" in the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee. He also featured in Wong Kar-wai's 2046 (2004).
Chang then co-starred with Shu Qi in Hou Hsiao-hsien's Three Times (2005), which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and won Golden Horse accolades for Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year, among other awards. For his performance in that film, Chang was also nominated for Best Leading Actor at the 42nd Golden Horse Awards.
In 2006, Chang was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actor for his role in The Go Master, a dramatisation of the life of the Go master Wu Qingyuan. The following year, Chang made his Korean debut in Kim Ki-duk's Breath, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Chang then starred in the historical war epic Red Cliff (2008-2009), portraying the warlord Sun Quan. He was nominated at the Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor. He next starred in the 2012 historical epic The Last Supper directed by Lu Chuan and the 2013 kungfu epic The Grandmaster by Wong Kar-wai.
In 2014, Chang headlined the wuxia film Brotherhood of Blades, which won commercial success and critical acclaim. He earned his third nomination for Best Actor in the Golden Horse Awards.
Chang reunited with Three Times director Hou Hsiao-hsien and co-star Shu Qi in the 2015 wuxia film The Assassin, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2017, Chang played the title character in the action film Mr. Long, which was selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. The same year, he returned for the second installment of Brotherhood of Blades film.
Chang served as a jury member at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2021, Chang played Dr. Wellington Yueh in Denis Villeneuve's epic science fiction film Dune. which premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. In the same year, he won Best Leading Actor at the 58th Golden Horse Awards for his performance in the mystery film The Soul, marking his first Golden Horse Award after three previous nominations without a win.
Chang served as a jury member at the 59th Golden Horse Awards in 2022.
In June 2023, Chang was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Personal life Chang was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His father Chang Kuo-chu and his brother Chang Han are also actors.
In November 2013, Chang married Ann Zhuang (莊雯如), his girlfriend of four years. The couple registered their marriage on 12 November and held a wedding reception on 18 November at SPOT Cinema in Taipei. Chang and Ann welcomed their daughter, Yuan Yuan, in March 2015.
Filmography Film Year English title Original title Role Notes 1980 Helpless Taste 三角習題 Hsiao-chien 1986 Dark Night 暗夜 Huang Cheng-te 1991 A Brighter Summer Day 牯嶺街少年殺人事件 Chang Chen (Xiao Si'r) 1996 Mahjong 麻將 Hong Kong 1997 Happy Together 春光乍洩 Chang 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍 Lo Xiaohu Flyin' Dance 第一次的親密接觸 Tai 2001 Betelnut Beauty 愛你愛我 Feng 2002 Chinese Odyssey 2002 天下無雙 Emperor Zhengde 2003 Sound of Colors地下鐵 Chung Cheng Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Sinbad Taiwanese version, voice2004 2046 2046 Cc1966 Eros 愛神 Zhang Segment: "The Hand"2005 Three Times 最好的時光 Chen / Mr. Chang / Zhen 2006 Silk 詭絲 Yeh Chi-tung The Go Master 吳清源 Wu Qingyuan 2007 My Blueberry Nights Jeremy Taiwanese version, voice Blood Brothers 天堂口 Mark Breath 숨 Jang Jin Into the Faraway Sky 遠くの空に消えた Smith Cameo2008 Red Cliff 赤壁 Sun Quan Missing 深海尋人 / 謎屍 Simon Parking 停車 / 車位 Chen Mo 2009 Red Cliff: Part 2 赤壁:決戰天下 Sun Quan 2010 Here Comes Fortune 財緣萬歲 Cheng Yu 2011 The Blue Cornflower 藍色矢車菊 William The Founding of a Party 建黨偉業 Chiang Kai-shek 2012 The Last Supper 王的盛宴 Han Xin Passion Island 熱愛島 Chuell Kim When Yesterday Comes 昨日的記憶 Chen Sheng Segment: "Healing"2013 The Grandmaster 一代宗師 Yi Xian Tian / Razor Christmas Rose 聖誕玫瑰 Winston 2014 Brotherhood of Blades 繡春刀 Shen Lian 2015 The Assassin 聶隱娘 / 刺客聶隱娘 Tian Ji'an Helios 赤道 Gam Dao-nin Monk Comes Down the Mountain 道士下山 Boss Zha 2016 The Secret Life of Pets Snowball Taiwanese version, voice2017 Mr. Long ミスター・ロン/ 龍先生 Long Brotherhood of Blades 2 繡春刀·修羅戰場 Shen Lian 2018 Forever Young 無問西東 Zhang Guoguo Savages 雪暴 Wang Kanghao 2021 Dune Dr. Wellington Yueh A Garden of Camellias 椿の庭 Huang Japanese film The Soul 缉魂 Liang Wenchao 2024 The Embers 餘燼 Chang Chen-tze 2025 Lucky Lu
Television series Year English title Original title Role 2019 Love and Destiny 三生三世宸汐缘 Jiu Chen 2022 Narco-Saints 수리남 Chen Jin
As director Year English title Original title Notes2014 Three Charmed Lives 三生 segment "Inchworm"
Music video appearances Year Artist Song title 1996 Zheng Zhihua "Mahjong" 2001 Brown Eyes "Already One Year" 2001 Brown Eyes "Bit By Bit" 2002 DJ Shadow "Six Days" 2020 Tarcy Su "Eternity and A Day"
Theater Year English title Mandarin title1986 The Adventures of Pinocchio 木偶奇遇記
Discography Albums TitleAlbum detailsTrack listingWalk Away 一走了之 Released: November 1995 Label: Forward Music Formats: CD, digital downloadChang Chen 張震就是張震 Released: July 1996 Label: Forward Music Formats: CD, digital download
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1991 Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor A Brighter Summer Day 1998 17th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Happy Together 2001 20th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2005 Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor Three Times 2007 1st Asian Film Awards Best Actor The Go Master 2008 Osaka Asian Film Festival Best Actor 2010 29th Hong Kong Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Red Cliff: Part 2 2014 Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor Brotherhood of Blades 2018 25th Beijing College Student Film Festival Best Actor Brotherhood of Blades 2 2019 26th Huading AwardsBest Actor (Historical drama)Love and Destiny Golden Bud - The Fourth Network Film And Television Festival Best Actor2021 23rd Taipei Film Awards Best Actor The Soul 30th Huading Awards 58th Golden Horse Awards Best Leading Actor 2024 61st Golden Horse Awards The Embers 2025 62nd Golden Horse AwardsLucky Lu 2026 41st Independent Spirit Awards Best Lead Performance
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