Barney Cheng
Encyclopedia
Barney Cheng is a Chinese
-American actor
.
He was born in Taiwan
, and speaks Mandarin and Taiwanese
fluently. His family emigrated
to the United States
when he was 12-years-old and he grew up in Brea
, California
. After graduating from Brea Olinda High School
, Cheng attended Stanford University
and received a degree
in political science in 1993. His focus was initially on a career in law
and he studied political philosophy at Oxford University
in England
. While at Oxford, he was attracted to the West End
stage
and spent nights and weekends in London
, where he decided to pursue an acting career.
In 1994, Cheng moved to New York City
, where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute
. He was featured in two Off-Broadway
plays
by playwright
Prince Gomolvilas
, Donut Holes in Orbit and Big Hunk o’ Burnin’ Love, and was a big hit with the audience. He appeared in a variety of stage and television
roles, including Shakespeare
’s Puck
, Bill Clinton
’s political adviser on Saturday Night Live
and George W. Bush
’s voice on Late Night with David Letterman
.
After four movie
appearances, Cheng played Chou, a translator
for a washed-up movie director
, played by Woody Allen
, and his Chinese cinematographer
in Allen's Hollywood Ending
(2002
). Although the movie received a mixed reception from critics
, they loved Cheng's performance. The New York Times described Cheng's comedic timing as "surgically precise." The Orange County Register raved that Cheng "steals every scene he's in." Cheng accompanied Allen to promote the film and to open the 55th Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to acting, Cheng directs and produces award-winning films. His films have collectively screened in over 80 film festivals worldwide. Most recently, his film To Comfort You, starring Golden Globe Winner Susan Blakely and Pauley Perrette of NCIS, won Best Drama and Best Film at the 2010 Beverly Hills Shorts Festival.
Cheng directed Steps for Banana Republic and Vanity Fair as part of his Film Independent Project:Involve fellowship. Steps won international awards from Poland's KAN Film Festival, Ukraine's International Rights Film Festival, UK's Black Film Festival and Malta's Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival.
MTV Networks acquired Cheng's film The Red Dress for its 2009-2010 Logo programming. Prior to that, Cheng directed Mrs. C, a political satire starring Niecy Nash, to help the Obama campaign during the 2008 presidential primary. His first screenplay Dien Dien's Playground advanced to the final stage of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Cheng lives in West Hollywood, California
and delivers every Friday for Project Angel Food.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-American actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
He was born in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and speaks Mandarin and Taiwanese
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
fluently. His family emigrated
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when he was 12-years-old and he grew up in Brea
Brea, California
Brea is a city in Orange County, California. The population, as of the 2010 Census was 39,282.The city began as a center of crude oil production, was later propelled by citrus production, and is now an important retail center because of the large Brea Mall and the recently redeveloped Brea Downtown...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. After graduating from Brea Olinda High School
Brea Olinda High School
Brea Olinda High School is a 9th–12th grade public high school located in Brea, California. Established in 1927, the school was originally located across the street from the Brea Mall in what has become the Brea Marketplace. In 1989, the school moved to its current location on the north end...
, Cheng attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and received a degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in political science in 1993. His focus was initially on a career in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and he studied political philosophy at Oxford University
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. While at Oxford, he was attracted to the West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and spent nights and weekends in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he decided to pursue an acting career.
In 1994, Cheng moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
__notoc__The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute is an acting school located at 115 East 15th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, as well as at 7936 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California...
. He was featured in two Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Prince Gomolvilas
Prince Gomolvilas
Prince Gomolvilas is a Thai American playwright. He has written many plays which have been produced in the United States and won several distinctive awards....
, Donut Holes in Orbit and Big Hunk o’ Burnin’ Love, and was a big hit with the audience. He appeared in a variety of stage and television
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
roles, including Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
’s Puck
Puck (Shakespeare)
Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, is a character in William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream that was based on the ancient figure in English mythology, also called Puck. Puck is a clever and mischievous elf and personifies the trickster or the wise knave...
, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
’s political adviser on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
’s voice on Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
.
After four movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
appearances, Cheng played Chou, a translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
for a washed-up movie director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, played by Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
, and his Chinese cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
in Allen's Hollywood Ending
Hollywood Ending
Hollywood Ending is a 2002 American film written and directed by Woody Allen, who also plays the principal character. It tells the story of a once-famous film director who suffers hysterical blindness due to the intense pressure of directing.-Plot:...
(2002
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
). Although the movie received a mixed reception from critics
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
, they loved Cheng's performance. The New York Times described Cheng's comedic timing as "surgically precise." The Orange County Register raved that Cheng "steals every scene he's in." Cheng accompanied Allen to promote the film and to open the 55th Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to acting, Cheng directs and produces award-winning films. His films have collectively screened in over 80 film festivals worldwide. Most recently, his film To Comfort You, starring Golden Globe Winner Susan Blakely and Pauley Perrette of NCIS, won Best Drama and Best Film at the 2010 Beverly Hills Shorts Festival.
Cheng directed Steps for Banana Republic and Vanity Fair as part of his Film Independent Project:Involve fellowship. Steps won international awards from Poland's KAN Film Festival, Ukraine's International Rights Film Festival, UK's Black Film Festival and Malta's Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival.
MTV Networks acquired Cheng's film The Red Dress for its 2009-2010 Logo programming. Prior to that, Cheng directed Mrs. C, a political satire starring Niecy Nash, to help the Obama campaign during the 2008 presidential primary. His first screenplay Dien Dien's Playground advanced to the final stage of the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Cheng lives in West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
and delivers every Friday for Project Angel Food.
Filmography
- Fall 1990 (19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
) ... Jimmy - FrequencyFrequency (film)Frequency is a 2000 science-fiction film that contains elements of the time travel, thriller and alternate history film genres. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Toby Emmerich. The film stars Dennis Quaid and James Caviezel as father and son, Frank and John Sullivan respectively. It...
(20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
) ... Barney, the food delivery man (uncredited) - Exceed (20012001 in filmThe year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
) ... Associate - RollerballRollerball (2002 film)Rollerball is a 2002 remake of the 1975 science-fiction film of the same name. This updated version stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn and Jean Reno, was directed by John McTiernan and has a much greater concentration on action with more muted social and political overtones...
(20022002 in filmThe year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
) ... Sports Announcer (uncredited) - Hollywood EndingHollywood EndingHollywood Ending is a 2002 American film written and directed by Woody Allen, who also plays the principal character. It tells the story of a once-famous film director who suffers hysterical blindness due to the intense pressure of directing.-Plot:...
(20022002 in filmThe year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
) ... Translator - Wasabi TunaWasabi TunaWasabi Tuna is a 2003 independent Cafe Entertainment Studios action comedy motion picture starring Jason London, Barney Cheng, Tim Meadows, Antonio Sabàto, Jr., Alanna Ubach, Guillermo Díaz, Alexis Arquette, and Arturo Gil...
(20032003 in filmThe year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
) ... Harvey/Mr. Ling - Stay Until Tomorrow (20042004 in filmThe year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
) ... Jim - Mission: Impossible IIIMission: Impossible IIIMission: Impossible III is a 2006 spy film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt....
(20062006 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
) ... Janitor