Marcus Chong
Born: July 8, 1967
Birthplace: Seattle, WA
Zodiac Sign: Cancer
Career and Life
Marcus Chong (né Wyatt) is an American actor. He is known for playing Huey P. Newton in Panther (1995), directed by Mario Van Peebles, Tank in The Matrix (1999), directed by The Wachowskis, and Miguel Mendez in Street Justice (1991-1993).
Chong was born Marcus Wyatt in Seattle, Washington, to an African-American father and a Chinese-American mother. His biological father, Martin Wyatt, was a sports reporter in San Francisco for KGO-TV. He was adopted by Tommy Chong and Shelby Chong in 1978.
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. He later appeared in the Vanishing Son action series as Fu Qua Johnson.
In 1999, Chong appeared as Tank in The Matrix. In May 2003, Chong filed a lawsuit at Los Angeles County Superior Court against Warner Bros and AOL Time Warner, saying Warner was in breach of a 1998 verbal agreement, and a 2000 contract to continue the character of Tank in the film's two sequels. It was reported that a breakdown in talks caused by his salary demands and threatening phone calls prompted The Wachowskis to write Chong's character out of the second and third films in the series.
In 2001, Chong appeared in Season 3 of the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit ("Inheritance").
In 2010 he had a role in season 4 of Burn Notice.
The documentary "The Marcus Chong Story" by Marcus Chong was released in 2018.
The Kill Off, a book written by Chong, was published 2019.