Desmond Chiam

Desmond Chiam is an Australian actor best known for his role as Wyatt Cole on Reef Break and General Riga on The Shannara Chronicles.

Desmond Chiam
BornJuly 30, 1987 (1987-07-30) (age 33)
Melbourne, Australia
OccupationActor
Years active2007-present

Biography

Chiam was born in Melbourne, Australia to parents of Chinese Singaporean descent.[1] As a child he spent a third of the year in Singapore as his father often worked there.[2] He holds a law degree from the University of Melbourne and also a master's degree in Screenwriting from University of Southern California.[3][2] He was CLEO Singapore's Bachelor of the Year in 2011.[4]

He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife.[5]

Career

Chiam first pursued a career as a lawyer after he graduated from the University of Melbourne. Unsatisfied with a law career after three months, he decided to pursue more creative fields in breakdancing and acting.[3][6][7]

He first started in short films in Australia before eventually appearing in Australian television in series such as Neighbours and Better Man. He eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.[5][8]

Chiam has had roles in multiple American television series including NCIS: Los Angeles and Bones, and was also in Con Man, a webseries by Alan Tudyk.[9]

In February 2017, he joined the main cast of Spike TV's The Shannara Chronicles (the series was formerly on MTV) in the show's second season where he played the villain, General Riga.[10]

He was cast as Jethro, boyfriend to Carly played by Kelli Berglund, in the Starz series Now Apocalypse starring Avon Jogia by Gregg Araki.[11] Following the series, he joined the cast of the Manila-set film Empty by Design working alongside friends Chris Pang, Osric Chau, Yoshi Sudarso, and Andrea Walter.[12]

In December 2018, he was cast as the male lead Wyatt Cole in ABC and M6's 2019 summer crime series Reef Break opposite Poppy Montgomery.[13][14][15][16][17] Following Reef Break's cancellation, Chiam joined the cast of the Disney+ Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in an undisclosed role.[18]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Refs
2012 Neighbours Jack Dutton 1 episode
2013 Better Man Hong film
2016 Bones 1 episode [9]
2016 NCIS: Los Angeles Edward Lee 1 episode
2016 Con Man 1 episode [9]
2017 The Shannara Chronicles General Riga main cast (season 2)
2018 Hawaii Five-0 Kazuya Nemoto 1 episode
2018 Asian Bachelorette 2 Aden YouTube Film from Wangfu Production [9]
2018 We Were Tomorrow Kuo 4 episodes
2019 Empty by Design Chance [9]
2019 Now Apocalypse Jethro recurring; 6 episodes
2019 Reef Break Wyatt Cole main cast; lead role
2020 Magic Camp Xerxes film [9]
2021 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier recurring; 6 episodes

Awards

CLEO Singapore, "Most Eligible Bachelor" (2011)[19]

References
  1. "How 'bad guy' roles have evolved for people of color". Public Radio International. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  2. "Desmond Chiam on Landing His Childhood Fantasy Role in 'Shannara Chronicles'". Kore Asian Media. 2017-11-10. Archived from the original on 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  3. "Exclusive Interview: Talking Nerdy with Shannara Chronicles' Desmond Chiam". TalkNerdyWithUs. 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  4. SPH Razor (2013-07-25), The most eligible bachelor in Singapore (Cleo 50 Most Eligible Bachelor 2011 Pt 1), retrieved 2018-11-19
  5. "Desmond Chiam: The Asian-Australian Actor You Need to Follow Right Now". Cold Tea Collective. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  6. "From Weekday Lawyer to War Lord: "The Shannara Chronicles'" Desmond Chiam Makes a Case for the Magic of Asian Elves". Hyphen Magazine. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  7. "Pop-Culturalist Chats with Desmond Chiam - Pop-Culturalist.com". Pop-Culturalist.com. 2017-11-22. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  8. "From Real-Life Lawyer To TV Detective: Here's Why Desmond Chiam Left The Law Behind". Character Media. 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  9. "Desmond Chiam". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  10. Petski, Denise (2017-02-01). "'The Shannara Chronicles' Rounds Out Season 2 Cast As Production Begins In New Zealand". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  11. Petski, Denise (2018-06-20). "'Now Apocalypse': Desmond Chiam & Taylor Hart Set To Recur On Starz Comedy Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  12. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2018-08-20). "Danny Pudi Set For 'Babysplitters'; 'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Chris Pang Joins Osric Chau In 'Empty By Design'". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-11-19.
  13. Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (2018-12-07). "'Reef Break': Desmond Chiam To Star In ABC/M6 Crime Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  14. Anop, Nirat. "Reef Break - Desmond Chiam to Star in ABC Summer Series". SpoilerTV. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  15. Nguyen, Hanh (2019-06-20). "'Reef Break' Review: ABC's Goofy Drama Rides the Crime Wave for Escapist Summer Fare". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  16. "After 'Crazy Rich' smash, Hollywood embraces Asian faces". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  17. "Want More Wyatt On 'Reef Break'? Me Too". Romper. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  18. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2019-12-13). "'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier' Adds 'Reef Break' Star Desmond Chiam And 'The Terror's Miki Ishikawa". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  19. Zeng, Zoe (2018-02-06). "CLEO's Most Eligible Bachelors: Where Are They Now?". CLEO Singapore. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
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