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Marcus Chong
Born
Marcus Scott Wyatt

(1967-07-08) July 8, 1967 (age 57)
Years active 1977–2013
Notable work

Marcus Scott Chong ( Wyatt; born July 8, 1967) is an American actor. He played Miguel Mendez in the crime drama, Street Justice (1991–1993), real-life activist Huey P. Newton in Panther (1995), directed by Mario Van Peebles, and Tank in The Matrix (1999), directed by The Wachowskis.

Early life

Chong was born in Seattle on July 8, 1967, to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. His biological father, Martin Wyatt, was a sports reporter in San Francisco for KGO-TV. He was adopted by Tommy and Shelby Chong in 1978.

Career

Chong began acting at age nine. His first role was portraying the young Frankie Warner in the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979). He was a guest star in Little House on the Prairie, in "Blind Journey: Part 2".

Chong originated the role of student Lee Cortez in the Broadway production of Stand-Up Tragedy, written by Bill Cain, which opened at the Criterion Center Stage Right and closed in October 1990 after 13 performances. The short-lived role nevertheless earned him a 1991 Theatre World Award; he was also nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.

In the early 1990s, Chong played the recurring character Miguel Mendez on the TV show Street Justice from 1991 to 1993. By 1994, he later appeared in the action series Vanishing Son as Fu Qua Johnson alongside many actors of Asian descent. In 1995, he appeared in the music video for "Temptations" with Coolio, Ice-T, and Jada Pinkett Smith.

In 1999, Chong appeared as Tank in The Matrix. Throughout the 2000s decade and briefly the 2010s, Chong has appeared in popular TV shows in supporting guest roles. In 2001, he appeared in the third season of the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and in 2002, appeared in the first season of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In 2009, he appeared in the sixth season of Numb3rs and in 2010, he had a role in the fourth season of Burn Notice.

Chong's last feature film role was in the 2005 movie The Crow: Wicked Prayer as a character named War. The film was released briefly in theaters in Chong's hometown of Seattle, Washington. Following this, he's appeared in multiple short films: "Concrete River" (2009), "Son Shine" (2013), and "Not 4 Sale" (2013); the latter in which he plays legendary actor Harry Belafonte. Following the last short film Not 4 Sale, Chong has had no acting roles since.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1980 The Reference Section Lead Short film
1980 Cheech & Chong's Next Movie Johnny
1980 Blood Beach 2nd kid
1988 Evil Altar Troy Long
1990 The Knife and Gun Club George Television film
1991 Flight of Black Angel 'Dragonfly'
1992 Venice/Venice Guest at party
1992 American Heart Terry Cosmos
1994 Vanishing Son Fu Qua Johnson Television film
1994 Vanishing Son II
1994 Vanishing Son IV
1995 Panther Huey Newton
1996 Pure Danger 'Freethrow' Direct-to-video
1997 The Uncontrollable Professor Chucky
1997 Fatal Fight Kevin
1998 High Freakquency Jordan Barnes
1999 The Matrix Tank
2005 The Crow: Wicked Prayer 'War'
2009 Concrete River Base Short film
2013 Son Shine Darrell Brown Short film
2013 Not 4 Sale Harry Belafonte Short film; also associate producer

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1978 Little House on the Prairie Samson Episode: "Blind Journey: Part 2"
1979 Roots: The Next Generations Frankie Warner 2 episodes
1979 The Lazarus Syndrome Jerry Episode: "Peace and Love, Willie Jackson"
1979 Dallas Jimmy Monroe Episode: "The Heiress"
1982 Diff'rent Strokes Kid at the arcade Episode: "Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade"
1982 The Facts of Life Young Boy Episode: "Starstruck"
1989 Hard Time on Planet Earth Tim Episode: "The Way Home"
1989 Dragnet Billy Roberts Episode: "The Connection"
1991–1993 Street Justice Miguel Mendez 24 episodes
1995 Chicago Hope Ramsey Coleman Episode: "A Coupla Stiffs"
2000 Linc's Ken Episode: "People Like Us"
2001 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Darrell Guan Episode: "Inheritance"
2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Johnny West Episode: "Seizure"
2009 Numb3rs Jones Episode: "Ultimatum"
2010 Burn Notice Caleb Episode: "Brotherly Love"
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