How long does Singaporean actor Chin Han last in movies?
Actor Ng Chin Han. (Vulcan Post)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes atmarcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Ng Chin Han— no, wait, he’s just Chin Han now — has come a long way from his “Masters of the Seas” days 20 years ago. If he were still in Singapore, this article would be referring to him as Ng thereafter.
Chin Han recently signed on with CAA (Creative Artists Agency), which manages clients like Will Smith, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert Downey Jr — or rather, Deadshot, Mystique, and Iron Man. Like Ben Affleck and Ryan Reynolds, Chin Han is one of the few actors to have played both a Marvel and DC character.
However, Chin Han has expired in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (as Councilman Yen), so that leaves the DC Extended Universe as his only chance to play a superhero! Luckily, “The Dark Knight” isn’t part of the DC Extended Universe, or he’ll have expired in both cinematic universes.
But let’s be honest - the Hollywood characters that Chin Han plays are still the token Asian character, thrown in for diversity and to show that the villains plot threatens not just America, but the whole world (including Asians). So here’s a look at how long Chin Han’s characters have managed to last in recentHollywood blockbusters, and whether he’s survived any of them. They’re ranked from shortest to longest.
Chin Han as Jiang Lao in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” (Independence Day Wiki)
1. Jiang Lao in “Independence Day: Resurgence”
Poor Chin Han doesn’t even make it past half the movie before he’s obliterated by an alien spacecraft the size of the Moon. He does have a cute niece, Rain Lao (played by Angelababy), who survives the movie. However, their most awkward exchange comes when they have a conversation in Mandarin on the Moon’s space station.
Chin Han speaks with a Singapore accent, while Angelababy’s distinctly different China accent makes it sound, for a brief moment, like the movie was set in Singapore.
Chin Han as Lau in “The Dark Knight.” (Comic Book Movie)
2. Lau in “The Dark Knight”
In a show of Hollywood’s creativity with Asian names, Chin Han plays two characters with the same name. At least in “The Dark Knight” he manages to outwit all the other mafia lords in Gotham City, earning Singapore some dubious pride. He’s only defeated by Batman, and then later burnt to death by the Joker halfway through the film.
Well, he couldn’t have bested the main protagonist and antagonist of the film, so he could arguably be said to be the fourth most powerful character in the film (after Two-Face).
Chin Han as Councilman Yen in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” (Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki)
3. Councilman Yen in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”
Councilman Yen doesn’t play a huge part in the film, but he does manage to hold the villain of the story, Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford) hostage with a gun. He almost makes it to the end of the film before getting assassinated by Alexander Pierce, along with the rest of the council.
He was so close to surviving.
Chin Han as Tenzin in “2012.” (Ace Showbiz)
4. Tenzin in “2012”
He’s a capable scientist who actually follows the ideal Singaporean career path, until he has to smuggle the protagonists of the film onto the Marina Bay Sands Ark-4. In the process, his leg gets badly injured and he almost doesn’t make it!
But he does. Just like the world did.
So there you have it, “2012” is the movie where Chin Han managed to survive all the way to the end.
Here’s to hoping we get to see Chin Han helm a film of his own in the future!
