Tiger Chen (; born March 3, 1975) is a Chinese martial artist, stuntman and actor. Chen is Yuen Woo Ping's protege and Keanu Reeves's teacher and friend. He was also Uma Thurman's stunt double.
Life
Early life Chen was born on March 3, 1975 in Chengdu, Sichuan, where he studied the Chinese martial arts. By age 18, he enrolled into Sichuan Wushu Team. He won the National Youth Martial Arts Competition in China.
At the age of 19, Chen went to the United States. He lived in a small wooden shack behind a shopping plaza in Gloucester Township, New Jersey. There he taught tai chi and weapons classes to the students of the Tang Soo Karate Academy which was located in the plaza. He said: "In China, at least you can practice kung fu and attend martial arts competitions, but in the United States, you will find that most of your time in washing the dishes and being a porter." Chen became a student of Hong Kong martial artist Yuen Woo-ping in 2000s.
Film career In 1998, Chen began his film career by holding a post on the fight choreography team as an assistant under Yuen in The Matrix, a science fiction action film starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Joe Pantoliano. At the same time, he became best friends with Keanu Reeves. Chen also held the post of choreographer in Charlie's Angels (2000), Once in the Life (2000) and Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003).
Chen had a minor role as a ronin in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), the second film of the Matrix trilogy. In 2005, he appeared as a martial artist in House of Fury with Anthony Wong, Gillian Chung, Stephen Fung and Charlene Choi.
In 2012, Chen played the lead role in Kung Fu Man, alongside Vanessa Branch and Jiang Mengjie.
After years in minor and supporting roles, Chen played the titular character in Man of Tai Chi, opposite the film's director Keanu Reeves, Karen Joy Morris and Yam Tat-wah.
In 2018, Chen made a special appearance in the Malaysian military film PASKAL: The Movie as a Chinese UN Observer accompanying the Malaysian UN Observers during a mission in Angola.
In 2019, Chen co-starred with Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais in the film Triple Threat. He also has an uncredited cameo as a Triad assassin in the film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Works
Film Year English Title Chinese Title Role Notes 1999 The Matrix Choreographer 2000 Charlie's Angels Choreographer Once in the Life Chino 2003 Kill Bill: Volume 1 Choreographer The Matrix Reloaded Ronin 2005 House of Fury Martial artist 2012 Kung Fu Man Chen Ping 2013 Man of Tai Chi Chen Linhu 2015 Monk Comes Down the Mountain 2016 Revenge of Gold 2017 Kung Fu Traveler Chen Wu/General Chen Kung Fu Traveler 2 A Jie/General Chen Romantic Assassin 2018 PASKAL: The Movie Sgt. Chen Han Malaysian Produced with Royal Malaysian Navy and Special Appearance 2019 Triple Threat Long Fei John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum Triad Uncredited Cameo Special Forces King 3 2021 The Matrix Resurrections M.O.T.C 2024 Agent 86 Liu 2025 Wick Is Pain Himself Documentary Film
Awards Champion of National Youth Martial Arts Competition All Around Champion of San Francisco International Martial Arts Tournament Champion of National Karate (Men's -60 kg) World Stunt Awards nominations for Matrix 2
See also Zoë Bell, Uma Thurman's other stunt double
References
External links