Editing Marcus Chong

{{short description|American actor}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=April 2024}}
{{Unreliable sources|date=April 2024}}
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{{Infobox person
| name               = Marcus Chong
| image              =
| alt                = 
| caption            = Marcus Chong in the 1990s
| birth_name         = Marcus Scott Wyatt
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1967|7|8}}
| birth_place        = [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
| death_date         = 
| death_place        =
| death_cause        = 
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = 
| years_active       = 1977–2013
| notable_works      = 
* ''[[Panther (film)|Panther]]''
* ''[[The Matrix]]''
| spouse             = 
| children           =
| awards             = 
}}
'''Marcus Scott Chong''' ([[né]] '''Wyatt'''; born July 8, 1967)<ref name= "ibdbbio"/> is an American actor. He played Miguel Mendez in the crime drama, ''[[Street Justice]]'' (1991–1993), real-life activist [[Huey P. Newton]] in ''[[Panther (film)|Panther]]'' (1995), directed by [[Mario Van Peebles]], and Tank in ''[[The Matrix]]'' (1999), directed by [[The Wachowskis]].

==Early life==
Chong was born in [[Seattle]] on July 8, 1967, to an African-American father and a Chinese mother. His biological father, Martin Wyatt, was a sports reporter in San Francisco for [[KGO-TV]].<ref name="pi">[http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Martin-Wyatt-former-Huskies-1226883.php DAN RALEY, "Where Are They Now? Martin Wyatt, former Huskies running back"], ''[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]'', 30 January 2007, accessed 8 December 2013</ref> He was adopted by [[Tommy Chong|Tommy]] and [[Shelby Chong]] in 1978.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-04-26|title=This Actor's Dad Is a Famous Actor Too & He Reveals Why Warner Bros. Producers Had Him Arrested|url=https://www.iloveoldschoolmusic.com/this-actors-dad-is-a-famous-actor-too-he-reveals-why-warner-bros-producers-had-him-arrested/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=I Love Old School Music|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Career==
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 (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'', in "Blind Journey: Part 2".<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.tv.com/shows/little-house-on-the-prairie/blind-journey-2-64090/cast/guest-stars/ | title= ''Little House on the Prairie'' Season 5 Episode 13 | publisher= TV.com}}</ref>

Chong originated the role of student Lee Cortez in the Broadway production of ''Stand-Up Tragedy'',<ref name= "ibdbbio"/> written by [[Bill Cain]], which opened at the [[Criterion Center Stage Right]] and closed in October 1990 after 13 performances.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=4613 | title= Stand-Up Tragedy |publisher= The Broadway League}}</ref> 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#1990s|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]]'' from 1991 to 1993. By 1994, he later appeared in the action series ''[[Vanishing Son]]'' as Fu Qua Johnson alongside many actors of Asian descent. In 1995, he appeared in the music video for "[[Temptations (song)|Temptations]]" with [[Coolio]], [[Ice-T]], and [[Jada Pinkett Smith]].

In 1999, Chong appeared as Tank in ''[[The Matrix]]''. Throughout the 2000s decade and briefly the 2010s, Chong has appeared in popular TV shows in supporting guest roles. In 2001, he appeared in the third season of the TV series ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'' and in 2002, appeared in the first season of ''[[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]''. In 2009, he appeared in the sixth season of ''[[Numbers (TV series)|Numb3rs]]'' and in 2010, he had a role in the fourth season of ''[[Burn Notice]]''.

Chong's last feature film role was in the 2005 movie ''[[The Crow: Wicked Prayer]]'' as a character named War. The film was released briefly in theaters in Chong's hometown of Seattle, Washington. Following this, he's appeared in multiple short films: "Concrete River" (2009), "Son Shine" (2013), and "Not 4 Sale" (2013); the latter in which he plays legendary actor [[Harry Belafonte]].<ref>{{cite AV media |date=3 December 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nigL9i9_2w8 |title=Not 4 Sale (Official Film) |publisher=Roger Melvin |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227043822/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nigL9i9_2w8 |archive-date=27 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following the last short film ''Not 4 Sale'', Chong has had no acting roles since.

==The Matrix controversy==
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 [[The Matrix (franchise)|two sequels]].<ref name="suit">{{cite web| url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2003/may/20/news | title= ''Matrix''{{'}}s 'Tank' sues makers over replacement |date= 20 May 2003 |newspaper= The Guardian}}</ref> Chong was offered a total of $250,000 to appear in ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions''. Chong claimed he was owed twice that amount, in addition to bonuses and guarantees he would be invited to press junkets and premieres. When [[the Wachowskis]] rejected his demands, Chong was arrested in October 2000 for allegedly making threatening phone calls to the filmmakers. In his suit, Chong claimed he had since been blackballed from Hollywood and blamed ''The Matrix'' creators and Warner Bros. for branding him a "terrorist".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Michileen |first1=Martin |title=''The Matrix'' Star was Fired from the Sequels Because of a Bizarre Request |url=https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/the-matrix-marcus-chong-reloaded.html |website=Giant Freakin Robot |date=16 September 2022 |access-date=30 September 2022}}</ref>

In 2016, Chong did a radio interview with [[BlogTalkRadio]] going into detail regarding behind-the-scenes issues during production of ''The Matrix'' and instances that occurred afterwards where he felt he was treated unfairly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blogtalkradio.com/iamsonothollywood/2015/09/17/the-matrix-actor-marcus-chong-finally-breaks-his-silence|title = ''The Matrix'' Actor Marcus Chong Finally Breaks His Silence}}</ref>

In 2018, he released a documentary, "The Marcus Chong Story", on his YouTube channels (under the names "Marcus Wyatt" and "Marcus Chong"), detailing his life and the issues he's faced working with actor [[C. Thomas Howell]] on the direct-to-video movie ''Pure Danger'' (1996) and during production of ''The Matrix'' in 1998.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=19 February 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI07UxRbYsw |title=The Marcus Chong Story#MatrixGate what really happened to Tank the Operator in the original Matrix |publisher=Marcus Wyatt |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104213455/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI07UxRbYsw |archive-date=4 January 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |date=7 March 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4q3MzhE200 |title=Must See The Marcus Chong Story |publisher=Marcus Chong |via=[[YouTube]] |access-date=21 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227064455/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4q3MzhE200 |archive-date=27 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Filmography==
===Film===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1978 || ''Lady and the Tramp: A Lesson in Sharing Attention''<ref name=70sshorts>{{Cite web|url=http://disneyfilmguide.page.tl/Disney-Shorts-d--1970ies.htm|title = - Disney Shorts: 1970ies}}</ref><ref name=D23>{{Cite web|url=https://d23.com/a-to-z/lady-and-the-tramp-a-lesson-in-sharing-attention/|title = D23: Disney A to Z – ''Lady and the Tramp: A Lesson in Sharing Attention''}}</ref>|| Richard || Educational short film from the ''Disney's Animated Classics: Lessons in Living'' series
|-
| 1980 || ''The Reference Section'' || Lead || Short film
|-
| 1980 || ''[[Cheech & Chong's Next Movie]]'' || Johnny ||
|-
| 1980 || ''[[Blood Beach]]'' || 2nd kid ||
|-
| 1988 || ''Evil Altar'' || Troy Long ||
|-
| 1990 || ''The Knife and Gun Club'' || George ||rowspan=2| Television film
|-
| 1991 || ''[[Flight of Black Angel]]'' || 'Dragonfly'
|-
| 1992 || ''[[Venice/Venice]]'' || Guest at party ||
|-
| 1992 || ''[[American Heart (film)|American Heart]]'' || Terry Cosmos ||
|-
| 1994 || ''[[Vanishing Son]]'' || rowspan=3|Fu Qua Johnson || rowspan=3|Television film
|-
| 1994 || ''[[Vanishing Son|Vanishing Son II]]''
|-
| 1994 || ''[[Vanishing Son|Vanishing Son IV]]''
|-
| 1995 || ''[[Panther (film)|Panther]]'' || [[Huey P. Newton|Huey Newton]] ||
|-
| 1996 || ''[[Pure Danger]]'' || 'Freethrow' || Direct-to-video
|-
| 1997 || ''The Uncontrollable Professor'' || Chucky ||
|-
| 1997 || ''Fatal Fight'' || Kevin ||
|-
| 1998 || ''High Freakquency'' || Jordan Barnes ||
|-
| 1999 || ''[[The Matrix]]'' || [[List of minor characters in the Matrix series#Tank|Tank]] ||
|-
| 2005 || ''[[The Crow: Wicked Prayer]]'' || 'War' ||
|-
| 2009 || ''Concrete River'' || Base || Short film
|-
| 2013 || ''Son Shine'' || Darrell Brown || Short film
|-
| 2013 || ''Not 4 Sale'' || [[Harry Belafonte]] || Short film; also associate producer
|}

=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| 1978 || ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' || Samson || Episode: "Blind Journey: Part 2"
|-
| 1979 || ''[[Roots: The Next Generations]]'' || Frankie Warner || 2 episodes
|-
| 1979 || ''The Lazarus Syndrome'' || Jerry || Episode: "Peace and Love, Willie Jackson"
|-
| 1979 || ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' || Jimmy Monroe || Episode: "The Heiress"
|-
| 1982 || ''[[Diff'rent Strokes]]'' || Kid at the arcade || Episode: "Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade"
|-
| 1982 || ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' || Young Boy || Episode: "Starstruck"
|-
| 1989 || ''[[Hard Time on Planet Earth]]'' || Tim || Episode: "The Way Home"
|-
| 1989 || ''[[Dragnet (franchise)|Dragnet]]'' || Billy Roberts || Episode: "The Connection"
|-
| 1991–1993 || ''[[Street Justice]]'' || Miguel Mendez || 24 episodes
|-
| 1995 || ''[[Chicago Hope]]'' || Ramsey Coleman || Episode: "A Coupla Stiffs"
|-
| 2000 || ''[[Linc's]]'' || Ken || Episode: "People Like Us"
|-
| 2001 || ''[[Law & Order: Special Victims Unit]]'' || Darrell Guan || Episode: "Inheritance"
|-
| 2002 || ''[[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]]'' || Johnny West || Episode: "Seizure"
|-
| 2009 || ''[[Numbers (TV series)|Numb3rs]]'' || Jones || Episode: "Ultimatum"
|-
| 2010 || ''[[Burn Notice]]'' || Caleb || Episode: "Brotherly Love"
|}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name= "ibdbbio">{{cite web | url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=74560#tabs-2 | title= Marcus Chong - Performer| publisher= The Broadway League}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|id = 0159059}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Marcus}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American actors of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Male actors from Seattle]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American male actors]]
[[Category:African American adoptees]]
[[Category:American adoptees]]
[[Category:Chong family|Marcus]]