Blackie Chen

"Blackie" Chen Chien-chou

Chen at the 5th Taipei Supau Cup Mini-Marathon in 2007
Background information
Chinese name (traditional)
Chinese name (simplified)
Pinyin Chén Jiànzhōu (Mandarin)
Born (1977-05-02) May 2, 1977
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Other name(s) Charles Chen
Occupation Show host, actor, producer, occasional singer, co-founder/CEO of artist agency
Voice type(s) baritone
Years active 2000-present
Spouse(s) Christine Fan (m. 2011)
Children 2 (twins, born January 15, 2015)
Alma mater Chinese Culture University
This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.

Chen Chien-chou (born May 2, 1977), also known as Blackie Chen, is a Taiwanese TV presenter, actor, filmmaker, singer, philanthropist, basketball manager, entrepreneur and a former basketball player.

Basketball career

In 1994, when Chen Chien-chou was 17, his father was killed in the China Airlines Flight 140 crash. He got into a brawl and was detained by the police. In order to secure his release, his aging grandfather tearfully begged the police officers. Chen Chien-chou felt so ashamed that he was determined to turn himself around. He practiced basketball very seriously. He made the Chinese Taipei junior national team and played in the 1995 ABC Under-18 Championship where they finished 5th.

Although only 190cm (short for even Taiwanese standards), Chen played in the paint. He modelled his game after Charles Barkley, also an undersized big man (hence his English name of "Charles Chen"). In 1999, after missing the cut for the Chinese Taipei national basketball team, he played for the B national team at the William Jones Cup.

Later, playing for a club in the Singaporean league (where he led the league in scoring and rebounding), he tore his anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in an accident. His basketball career ended prematurely as a result.

Entertainment career

Chen became a performing artist, and a host of numerous variety shows.[1][2] Because of his dark skin, he has come to be known by the nickname "Blackie", it is also because the name rhymes with Jackie Chan, in which they both are trained in judo, which Blackie obtained a blue belt. He has been in a relationship with Christine Fan for 10 years, before finally getting engaged in 2010.[3] They were married in Taipei on May 7, 2011.

Currently the team leader and head of marketing for the Taiwan Beer Basketball Team, Chen directed a 2008 documentary entitled Attitude (態度) on the team's quest to become Super Basketball League champion. The documentary was well received and earned him widespread acclaim and accolades from the Taiwanese film industry. Many consider it the high-water mark of Taiwanese sports related documentary films.

Blackie is also a successful, popular, and well-known television personality and host for several television shows. He is slated to play Peng Dehuai in the highly anticipated miniseries Untold Stories of 1949, to be produced for HBO Asia.

He, along with his wife Christine Fan, are also the co-founder and spokespeople for the Love Life campaign, after becoming a Christian, as influenced by her mother-in-law while Christine was recovering from severe depression and mild anorexia.[4]

TV shows hosted

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2001Expect a Miracle (蘋果咬一口)
2005Perfect Match (天生絕配)Charlie
2007I Wish (奇妙的旅程)Lee Bing
2008Attitude (態度)himselfdocumentary, also producer
2009Love Lifehimselfdocumentary, also producer
The Wedding Game (大囍事)Tom
2010Future X-Cops (未來警察)Misfortune
2013Amazing (神奇)Blackie

TV Dramas

Year Title Role Notes
2001Six Friends (青春六人行)
2002Purple Corner (紫色角落)Chang Shih-chuan
Meteor Garden II (流星花園II)Hsin
2004Love Bird (候鳥E人)Wang Li-hsin
2005A Story of Soldiers (再見,忠貞二村)Shao Chan-sheng
The Sour Pack (醋溜族)
2006Mico, Go! (米可,GO!)Peter
2007The Teen Age (18禁不禁)
2010Summer's Desire (泡沫之夏)cameo
2015Lonely Gourmet (孤獨的美食家)Charles

See also

References

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