Frédéric Chau
Frédéric Chau in 2014
Born (1977-06-06) 6 June 1977
OccupationActor
Years active2006–present

Frédéric Chau (born 6 June 1977) is a Vietnam-born French actor of Chinese-Cambodian descent.

Life and career

Frédéric Chau in 2012

Frédéric Chau was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to parents of the Chinese minority in Cambodia. In 1977, while his mother was pregnant with him, his parents left Phnom Penh for Vietnam in order to escape the Khmer Rouge who were massacring civilians. He was only six months old when his family emigrated to France. They settled in the district of Marx-Dormoy in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, then moved very quickly to the Paris suburbs in Villetaneuse, Seine-Saint-Denis.

After being spotted by a fashion photographer, he briefly worked as a model for the People International advertising agency. Passionate about travel, he was recruited in 1998 by Air France as a steward, while he took comedy classes.

In 2005, Frédéric Chau went on stage and made a name for himself by performing different skits and performing in several stand-up scenes, notably at the Ménilmontant theater. In 2006, wearing his white shirt, his tie and his impeccable suit jacket, he was the only Asian at the Jamel Comedy Club and he enjoyed it: "Not easy to be an Asian comedian if you do not do karate, spring rolls, or you know nothing about computers!"

In 2010 he had a small role in the French/Hollywood production From Paris With Love (2010), starring John Rhys Meyers and John Travolta, as a Chinese maître'd employed by the French-Asian Triads.

In 2014, he played in Serial (Bad) Weddings with Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby by Philippe de Chauveron. The same year, he played a secondary role in Lucy, Luc Besson's blockbuster, which earned him the title of "Most successful French actor in 2014" by Première magazine, which noted that the accumulation of these two successes allowed him to total nearly 17.5 million ticket sales over the year.[1]

In September 2015, he published an autobiography, Je viens de si loin (I come from so far in English), with Philippe Rey Editions. He reveals much about himself on his journey, the exile of his parents, the life of an immigrant in this country and in this city, and his experiences with assimilation/integration.

In 2019, he starred in a lead role in a film called Made in China (2019).

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Role Director Notes
2008 Crise dans le secteur bancaire Martin Marc Schaus Short film
Osc DisT Fabius Dubois Short film
2009 5 films contre l'homophobie : Fusion Man Marc Xavier Gens & Marius Vale Short film
Eden Is West The Asian Costa-Gavras
District 13: Ultimatum Tran Patrick Alessandrin
Neuilly Yo Mama! Chow-Yung-Fi Gabriel Laferrière
Beverly Hills Chihuahua El Diablo Raja Gosnell French voice
2010 Rien à perdre Jean-Henri Meunier Short film
Coursier Rico Hervé Renoh
From Paris with Love Chinese Maitre d' Pierre Morel
Les Princes de la nuit Patrick Levy
Bacon on the Side Lucien Anne De Petrini
2011 Halal police d'État Mathieu Cohen Rachid Dhibou
Mince alors! Baptiste Charlotte De Turckheim
2013 Rock Paper Scissors (Roche papier ciseaux) Muffin Yan Turgeon Lanouette
Paris à tout prix Mister Chan Reem Kherici
2014 Serial (Bad) Weddings Chao Ling Philippe de Chauveron
Dealer Linux Jean Luc Herbulot
Lucy The Steward Luc Besson
2015 Feuilles de printemps Gregoire Nguyen Stéphane Ly-Cuong Short film
2016 Uchronia The Global Minister of Homelessness and you and me Christophe Gofette
2017 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Sergeant Neza Luc Besson French voice
2018 Serial (Bad) Weddings 2 Chao Ling Philippe de Chauveron
Made in China François Julien Abraham
2019 The Translators Chen Yao Régis Roinsard

Television

Year Title Role Director Notes
2008 La Taupe François Shaozu Vincenzo Marano TV movie
Inside Jamel Comedy Club Himself Jamel Debbouze TV series
2009 La Belle Vie Tin Kok Virginie Wagon TV movie
La Taupe 2 François Shaozu Vincenzo Marano TV movie
Les Incroyables Aventures de Fusion Man Marc Xavier Gens TV movie
2013 Les Limiers Dr. Nguyen Alain DesRochers TV series - Episode 1
2015 Nos chers voisins Martin, Karine's ex Guest
2017 Kim Kong Choi Han Sung Stephen Cafiero TV series

Music video

Year Music Singer
2002 1er Gaou Magic System
2010 Splinters of Soul Chloé Micout
2013 D'un ave Maria Pascal Obispo

Publication

  • Je viens de si loin, éditions Philippe Rey, 2015.[2]

References

  1. "L'acteur français qui a eu le plus de succès en 2014, c'est Frédéric Chau". Première magazine (in French). 22 December 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  2. "Je viens de si loin, Frédéric Chau". Editions Philippe Rey (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2018.
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