Osric Chau () is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Kevin Tran in the CW series Supernatural, Vogel in the BBC America series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, and Ryan Choi in the TV shows set in the Arrowverse.
Life and career Chau's father is from Hong Kong, and his mother is from Malaysia. In 2000, he took up Wing Chun and continued to study the martial art for eight years. He also studied tai chi and traditional forms of wushu under Zhang Zhi Bing, a master from Harbin, China. After four years, upon Zhang's return to China, Chau enrolled in West Coast Chinese Martial Arts in Vancouver under head instructor Bruce Fontaine and studied modern wushu, a more performance-orientated martial art. In 2007, Chau trained for seven months with the BSU Wushu Team at Beijing Sport University in preparation for the Canadian National Team Trials. Upon his return, he became a member of the Canadian National Wushu Team.
Chau originally wanted to be a stuntman rather than an actor, and worked on stunts for EA Games before appearing in his first major role opposite David Carradine and Daryl Hannah in the two-part television film Kung Fu Killer. He went on to make his feature film debut in a supporting role in the 2009 film 2012 and later became more well known through his recurring role as Kevin Tran in the CW fantasy series Supernatural.
Chau has collaborated with the YouTube channel The Hillywood Show in video parodies of The Walking Dead, Supernatural, and Sherlock. He has also been involved with campaigns against stereotyping in media.
In 2018, Chau starred in the Manila-set independent film Empty by Design alongside Filipina actress Rhian Ramos and Crazy Rich Asians actor Chris Pang. Empty by Design marks Chau's first feature film producing endeavor. In September 2019, Chau was cast as Ryan Choi in the Arrowverse, and was featured during three of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" episodes. In November 2019, he was cast as the lead to the Indonesian horror film, The Villa.
In 2021, he returned to The Flash as Ryan Choi for the third and fourth parts of its "Armageddon" event which opened the eighth season. This was an alternate timeline version who had no family, but as part of Team Flash had taken up the mantle of Atom like in the comics.
Filmography
Television Year Title Role Notes 2002 Cold Squad Vic Dnang 2007 Dragon Boys Teen Television film 2008 Kung Fu Killer Lang Han 2009 Hector Episode: "Forest Grump" 2011 Best Player Ash's buddy Television film 2012 Mister French Taste Leon 7 episodes, writer for 1 otherHalo 4: Forward Unto Dawn J.J. 2012–2019 Supernatural Kevin Tran Recurring role, 20 episodes 2014 Red Eyed Boy Episode: "I Am Become Death" 2015 Beyond Redemption Rickson Blood and Water Charlie Xie 2016 Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders Gul 2016–2017 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Vogel (member of the Rowdy 3) Recurring role 2019–2021 Carmen Sandiego The Troll Voice 2019, 2021 The Flash Ryan Choi / Atom Episodes: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 3", "Armageddon" parts 3 and 4 2020 Arrow Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 4" Legends of Tomorrow Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 5" 2021 Morning Show Mysteries Wally Episode 6: "Murder Ever After" 2021, 2023 Nancy Drew Edwin George Chen 3 episodes 2022 Star Trek: Discovery Oros Episode: "The Galactic Barrier" Tekken: Bloodline Bully 1 Voice, 1 episode Christmas at the Golden Dragon Rick Chen Television film 2023 My Adventures with Superman Lewis Lane Voice, episode: "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal" 2024 Avatar: The Last Airbender Tan Episode: "Omashu"Fire CountryKenjiEpisode: "What the Bride Said"HolidazedTed Lin
Film YearTitleRole Notes 2009 2012 Nima 2010 What Women Want Chen Er Dong 2012 Fun Size Peng The Man With The Iron Fists Blacksmith's Assistant 2014 The Akira Project Kaneda Shotaro 2016 The Matchbreaker Sam Independent film 2017 Boone: The Bounty Hunter Denny 2018 Status Update Donald Fu 2019 Empty by Design Eric Independent film; also producer 2021 Superhost Teddy Also executive producer 2023 Zoe.mp4 Matt 2025 Worth the Wait Nathan
Other YearTitleRole Notes2009StuntsShort film2012Must Come DownFight choreographer and executive producer2014 The Walking Dead ParodyGlenn RheeParody by the Hillywood Show2015Supernatural ParodySam Winchester2016Sherlock ParodyJim Moriarty2018Supernatural Parody 2Sam Winchester2019Umbrella Academy ParodyBen Hargreeves
References
External links