James Chen is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Kal on The Walking Dead. Chen also played Samuel Chung on the Netflix series Iron Fist.
Early life and education
Chen was born and raised in New York and is of Chinese descent. After earning a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania, Chen earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama. He was awarded with the Dexter Wood Luke Memorial Prize for his work there.
Career
In 2011, he played the recurring character Adrian Sung in the crime series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He has appeared in The Walking Dead since the shows’ sixth season.
In 2015, he co-starred in the LGBT drama Front Cover opposite Jake Choi.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Murder Below the Line | Pete Richards | |
| 2010 | Boy Wonder | Roy | |
| Five Minarets in New York | Agent Lee | ||
| 2011 | We Need to Talk About Kevin | Dr. Foulkes | |
| Mr. Popper’s Penguins | Fish and Game Officer | ||
| 2012 | Watching TV with the Red Chinese | Tzu | |
| Archaeology of a Woman | Desk Officer | ||
| The Amazing Spider-Man | Police Officer | ||
| 2013 | Run Into You | Brady | Short film |
| Labor Day | Paramedic | ||
| 2014 | Before I Disappear | Chinese Man | Uncredited |
| Amira & Sam | Donnie | ||
| 2015 | Front Cover | Ning | |
| 2019 | Fluidity | Eric |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Evan and Gareth Are Trying to Get Laid | Larry | TV movie |
| Mercy | Ben Shin | 1 episode | |
| 2010 | Blue Bloods | Nelson Chiu | 1 episode |
| Running Wilde | Pathologist | 1 episode | |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | CSU Adrian Sung | Recurring (7 episodes) |
| 2012 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Cadeo Hoang | 1 episode |
| 2014 | The Blacklist | Lee Chung | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Sleepy Hollow | Lorenzo Chang | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Person of Interest | James Ko | 1 episode |
| 2016–present | The Walking Dead | Kal | Recurring |
| 2017 | Elementary | Lt. Morrison | 1 episode |
| 2018 | Iron Fist | Samuel Chung | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Madam Secretary | Mr. Usuki | 1 episode |
| 2018–present | FBI | Ian Lim | Recurring |
| 2019 | 9-1-1 | Kevin Lee | 1 episode |
