Star Wars took the world by storm when it came out back in 1977. Nowadays, almost everybody knows of the franchise — from kids to great grandparents. The Lucasfilm production has had a total of 11 films, and 3 animated and 1 live-action TV series. Not to mention the number of books and comic books they’ve released.
The intergalactic story showcases different life-forms of all shapes, colors, and sizes. If there was any franchise that showcased the many variations life-forms can come in, it’s Star Wars. It comes as no surprise that a number of actors that represented the characters in the series were Chinese.
Here are some of the Chinese actors who appeared in the Star Wars galaxy across all films and the TV shows in all sorts of roles — big and small:
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Dalyn Chew – Jedi Rocks Dancer
This lady appeared in the special edition release of Return of the Jedi.
Swee Lim – Hoover
Puppets artists count, right?
Arnold Lee – Rayc Ryjerd (Jabbas Smuggler)
He was uncredited for his role, but not unseen on the big screen.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Kee Chan – Malé-Dee
So the film franchise skipped a few years of Chinese flavor. Kee Chan shows up 22 years after the first set of Chinese actors.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Calvin Chen – Resistance Engineer
Trivia: This actor is of Chinese-Filipino heritage. He has a Taiwanese-Korean father and a Filipino mother.
Clem So – Resistance Fighter
This man with beautiful hair gained the world’s attention when he made a series of appearances on the TV show, Doctor Who. He has been in the background of your favorite films like Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Jurassic World, Fast and Furious, and a few more upcoming notable films. He was also in Solo: A Star Wars Story as a Dryden Guest.
Liang Yang – FN-2199
This famous stunt performer stayed masked and anonymous in The Force Awakens. He was one among many famous names to stay masked as a storm trooper in the film. He was also in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi as a Praetorian Guard.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Wen Jiang – Baze Malbus
This actor/director is well-known in China and joined the names of Star Wars alums in 2016.
Donnie Yen – Chirrut Îmwe
One of the more popular names on the list, Donnie Yen is a Chinese action star has been in the game for a while, but he has finally joined the Lucasfilm family as Chirrut Îmwe.
Gabby Wong – Gold Nine
A rebel soldier in the film, this woman’s character is no one to turn up your nose at.
Albert Tang – Red Pilgrim
Another actor who seems to have a roster of uncredited roles to his name on IMDb. Still, he’s in Star Wars!
Ivy Wong – Pendra Siliu
Rogue One is the first project she has listed on her IMDb page, but it’s not the only one. She now also stars in Raised by Wolves, a new sci-fi series.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Jason Wong – Weapons Check Enforcer
If you did not get enough of him in Solo, you can catch him as Dr. Adam Yuen in the Silent Witness series or even on White Dragon as Kai.
Chelsea Li – Dryden’s Yacht guest
She’s in a bunch of different films, but no notable roles yet. She’s pretty active on Instagram though if you’re a fan.
Angela Yeoh – Miner
Making it into the Star Wars universe one year into her IMDb-credited acting career is a feat for sure. She’s currently working on filming The Batman as a forensic photographer.
The Mandalorian
Ming-Na Wen – Fennec Shand
This Disney mainstay has finally made her way into the Star Wars universe. She appears in The Mandalorian and is lined up for appearances in The Book of Boba Fett, and Star Wars: The Bad Batch – 2 new series lined up for release in 2021.
Wing T. Chao – Governor Wing
The Former Imagineering Executive has now become Governor Wing in the Star Wars series.
Deborah Chow – Sash Ketter/Director
Deborah is better known as a director/writer. But she does have one acting credit to her name: Sash Ketter in The Mandalorian, a series she has directed two episodes of, and there may be more in the future.
Looking for more Chinese and Chinoy actors to make it big in Hollywood? Check out this article on 5 Chinese actors set for Hollywood stardom in major movies.