Tzi Ma

Tzi Ma, (Chinese: 馬泰) is a Hong Kong-American actor born in Hong Kong as the youngest of seven children. He found his passion for acting at a very young age when he portrayed Buffalo Bill in an elementary school production of 'Annie Get Your Gun'. Moving to New York at the tender age of five, Ma grew up watching his parents run an American Chinese restaurant, named Ho Wah, in Staten Island. His dramatic instinct found an influential idol in Mako’s performance in 'Pacific Overtures' in 1976. Ma’s love for the stage started to deepen when he started collaborating with his friend David Henry Hwang on plays. He first professionally entered the acting world in 1973 via experimental theater, leveraging his martial arts skills in his debut role as Jimmy Lee in 'Cocaine Cowboys' (1979). He's starred in many remarkable TV shows like 'The Man in the High Castle' and '24', and films like 'Dante's Peak', 'Rush Hour' series, 'Arrival', 'The Farewell', 'Tigertail', and 'Mulan'. From 2021 to 2023, he starred in the American martial arts TV series 'Kung Fu' on The CW. He has been awarded the Cine Golden Eagle Award for Best Actor for 'The Dance and The Railroad' and the Garland Award for his performance in 'Flower Drum Song'.