Ministry of Culture

• Chinese Name: 張震
• Born: Oct. 14, 1976
• Birthplace: Taipei City (Northern Taiwan)
• Did you know that …?
• Chang Chen is the only Taiwanese actor who has worked with almost all the internationally renowned directors from Taiwan and Hong Kong, including Ang Lee (李安), Edward Yang (楊德昌), Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Woo Yu-sen (吳宇森), and Wong Kar-wai (王家衛).

Chang Chen is a Taiwanese actor who started his film career in 1980 and rose to prominence at the age of 15. He has since been nominated 3 times for the Golden Horse Award for Best Actor.

Coming from a celebrity family, Chang's father and brother are also actors. Chang took the lead in Edward Yang's 1991 film "A Brighter Summer Day (轱嶺街少年殺人事件), when his father and brother were also participating in the film, and became a professional film actor.

Chang has starred in numerous films that have received wide acclaim, such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (臥虎藏龍),” "Three Times (最好的時光),” "Happy Together (春光乍現),” and the Cannes-winning "The Assassin (刺客聶隱娘)”.

Though Chang keeps a low profile, his devotion to film shines. In order to play a role in Wong Kar-wai's "The Grandmaster (一代宗師),” Chang spent three years training in martial arts, and even won first place in a martial arts competition. Chang has also learned to play guqin, Go, and got a diving license to prepare for his roles.

Before Chang's second collaboration with director Hou Hsiao-hsien for "The Assassin,” he had worked with many other directors and tried different ways of acting. Chang revealed in an interview that he wants to be more flexible in terms of role, and acting for "The Assassin” was a serious path but also an interesting challenge for him.

Being passionate in film, Chang keeps challenging himself with different roles, and he revealed that he may bring a new work as a director in 10 years time.