Chen Tianwen

Career Chen joined the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation after completing the 5th artiste drama training class and made his debut in 1984. He is contracted to Mediacorp, starring in many Chinese-language Singaporean dramas shown on MediaCorp Channel 8 since the 1990s. He has also starred in Singaporean movies including Ah Boys to Men, Ah Boys to Men 2, Ilo Ilo, The Lion Men, The Lion Men: Ultimate Showdown, Ah Boys to Men 3: Frogmen, Mr. Unbelievable, Lulu the Movie and Take 2.

Chen holds a black belt in taekwondo and his martial arts background led to him being cast in many Wuxia dramas in the 1990s and as characters with fight scenes in other drama series. He is also a member of the Singapore Celebrity Soccer Team.

The Straits Times remarked that Chen's "much-praised understated turn" in the Cannes Film Festival award-winning film Ilo Ilo put him in the spotlight once again.

In 2015, as part of an episode of Channel 5 dramedy Spouse For House, Chen's parody music video titled "Unbelievable", was "lauded" for the nonsensical line "I so stunned like vegetable" , drawing the attention of Time magazine. A second parody music video, "Sandcastle in My Heart", in which Irene Ang also starred, did not become as popular as the previous one. Both videos are a parody of popular Chinese MVs in the 1970s, particularly the work of Singaporean singer Huang Qing Yuan.

In 2021, Chen launched ready to eat meals branded as Mr Lazy Bum with three partners, including fellow actor Ye Shipin.

Personal life Chen studied at Serangoon Garden Secondary Technical School.

Chen told Channel NewsAsia that he and Bao Xiao Hui, a Mongolian, were married in May 2014. The couple had a son named Genghis Chan, who was born on 12 June 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television series (as Zhu Guodong) 2023Star AwardsTop 10 Most Popular Male Artistes