fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Ronny Xin Yi Chieng (Chinese: 錢信伊; pinyin: Qián Xìnyī; born 21 November 1985) is a Malaysian comedian and actor. He is currently a senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show and the creator and star of the ABC Australia sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student.

Ronny Chieng
錢信伊
Chieng in May 2018
Born	(1985-11-21) 21 November 1985 (age 36) Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Occupation	Comedian, actor
Years active	2009–present
Spouse	Hannah Pham ​ ​ (m. 2016)​
Website	ronnychieng.com

Early life

Ronny Xin Yi Chieng was born into a Malaysian Chinese family in Johor Bahru on 21 November 1985.[1][2][3] He grew up in both Singapore and the United States; from 1989 to 1994, he lived in Manchester, New Hampshire.[4][5] In his youth, he was a Singapore Sea Scout.[6] When he lived in Johor Bahru, he commuted to Fuchun Primary School in neighbouring Singapore.[6] He subsequently attended Pioneer Secondary School and Pioneer Junior College in Singapore.[7] He attended the University of Melbourne in Australia, living at Trinity College and graduating in 2009 with a BComm in finance and an LL.B. He also obtained a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University in 2012.[8]

Career

Chieng performed with Trevor Noah in 2013 at an Australian comedy festival in Melbourne.[9][10] In 2015, he was asked to audition for the correspondent role on The Daily Show, which Noah hosts.[9] In July 2016, he was named one of 10 Comics to Watch by Variety.[11] Three months later, he had a segment on The Daily Show in which he gave an expletive-laden criticism of a Jesse Watters clip on Fox News deemed by many as racist. He also revisited New York City's Chinatown neighborhood, where Watters had mocked residents, and conducted more respectful interviews in Mandarin and Cantonese.[12] The video went viral and received coverage in The Washington Post and on Slate.[13][14]

In 2017, Chieng began co-writing and starring in the sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student, based on his own experience as a Malaysian student in Australia.[15] It was developed for Comedy Central in America and ABC TV in Australia.[2][3] In 2018, he made his film debut in Crazy Rich Asians, as Eddie Cheng, an obnoxious banker.[16][17]

In 2019, his first stand-up special with Netflix, Asian Comedian Destroys America!, was released,[17][18] directed by his Daily Show collaborator Sebastian DiNatale.[19] In early 2021, Chieng signed a deal with Netflix for two additional stand-up specials and a "docu-comedy."[20] He also appeared as the original character Jon Jon in the Marvel Studios film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,[21][22] and it was announced that Chieng and DiNatale will co-write a martial arts action-comedy film for Sony.[19]

The new "docu-comedy", titled Ronny Chieng Takes Chinatown, was released in 2022 and co-stars YouTuber David Fung, with guest appearances from fellow Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu and professional NBA player Jeremy Lin.[23] Chieng's second Netflix special, Speakeasy, was released on 5 April 2022.[24][25]

In October 2022, Chieng commented on Rishi Sunak becoming Britain's first Asian Prime Minister during a Daily Show segment. He said, “I know everyone is excited that this is the first Asian prime minister, but let’s be clear: Indians are not Asians, OK? They’re still people — great people — just not Asian people.” Many internet netizens have criticized the joke, particularly by Indians.[26][27]

Personal life

Chieng has lived in New York City since moving to the U.S. in 2015.[28] He is married to Hannah Pham.[29] Although he lived in Australia for a decade, he does not have citizenship or permanent residency status there.[30][31] He practises Brazilian jiujitsu and holds the rank of blue belt.[6]

In 2018, Chieng joked that he had a fear of dogs on The Daily Show,[32] but later clarified in an interview that he was "100% not scared of dogs".[33] He is an avid collector of watches, an interest that first began with a Seiko 5 that he purchased during his university years in Australia. His watch collection was featured on an episode of the Hodinkee series Talking Watches and includes a rare variant of the Seiko Chronograph Ref. 6139-6010 (widely acknowledged as being worn by Bruce Lee) and a vintage GMT-Master Ref. 16753 "Root Beer".[34] Another of his watches, a two-tone Rolex dated to 1984 that he inherited from his late father, appeared on an episode of Antiques Roadshow and was valued at $5,000.[35]

Filmography

Comedy specials

Year	Title	Distributor
2019	Asian Comedian Destroys America!	Netflix
2022	Speakeasy	Netflix

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	Crazy Rich Asians	Edison "Eddie" Cheng
2021	Wish Dragon	Pipa God
2021	Bliss	Kendo
2021	Long Story Short	Sam
2021	Trust	Adam
2021	Godzilla vs. Kong	Jay Wayne
2021	Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings	Jon Jon
2022	Helvellyn Edge	AC Sloan	[21][36]
2023	M3GAN	TBA

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Problems	Mr. Meowgi	4 episodes
2013–2014	Legally Brown	Various	13 episodes
2013–2014	It's a Date	Winston	2 episodes
2013–2014	Have You Been Paying Attention?	Himself	3 episodes
2014	This is Littleton	Various Characters	4 episodes
2015–present	The Daily Show	Himself (correspondent)
2016	Comedy Showroom	Himself	1 episode
2016	The Katering Show	Himself	1 episode
2017	Ronny Chieng: International Student	Himself	7 episodes
2018–present	Scissor Seven	Seven	20 episodes
2020	Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun	Himself	Voice
2021	Young Rock	Greg Yao
2021	Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.	Dr. Lee
2021	Ten Year Old Tom	Pete	Episode: "Tom Urinates on Boston/First Responder" Voice
TBA	Super Simple Love Story	Harris

Awards

Melbourne Comedy Festival

Year	Award	Result
2012	Best Newcomer Award	Won
2014	Directors' Choice Award	Won

Sydney Comedy Festival

Year	Award	Result
2013	Best of the Fest	Nominated
2014	Best of the Fest	Won

ARIA Music Awards

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
2014	The Ron Way	Best Comedy Release	Nominated	[37]
2015	Chieng Reaction	Best Comedy Release	Nominated

References

External links

• Official website
• Ronny Chieng at IMDb

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