Blackie Chen

"Blackie" Chen Chien-chou
Chen at the 5th Taipei Supau Cup Mini-Marathon in 2007
Background information
Chinese name	(traditional)
Chinese name	(simplified)
Pinyin	Chén Jiànzhōu (Mandarin)
Born	(1977-05-02) May 2, 1977 (age 39) Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Other name(s)	Charles Chen
Occupation	Show host, actor, producer, occasional singer, co-founder/CEO of artist agency
Voice type(s)	baritone
Years active	2000-present
Spouse(s)	Christine Fan (m. 2011)
Children	2 (twins, born January 15, 2015)
Alma mater	Chinese Culture University

Chen Chien-chou (born May 2, 1977), also known as Blackie Chen, is a Taiwanese TV presenter, actor, filmmaker, singer, philanthropist, basketball manager, entrepreneur and a former basketball player.

In 1994, when Chen Chien-chou was 17, his father was killed in the China Airlines Flight 140 crash. He got into a brawl and was detained by the police. In order to secure his release, his aging grandfather tearfully begged the police officers. Chen Chien-chou felt so ashamed that he was determined to turn himself around. He practiced basketball very seriously. He made the Chinese Taipei junior national team and played in the 1995 ABC Under-18 Championship where they finished 5th.

Although only 190 cm (short for even Taiwanese standards), Chen played in the paint. He modelled his game after Charles Barkley, also an undersized big man (hence his English name of "Charles Chen"). In 1999, after missing the cut for the Chinese Taipei national basketball team, he played for the B national team at the William Jones Cup.

Later, playing for a club in the Singaporean league (where he led the league in scoring and rebounding), he tore his anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in an accident. His basketball career ended prematurely as a result.

Chen became a performing artist, and a host of numerous variety shows. Because of his dark skin, he has come to be known by the nickname "Blackie", it is also because the name rhymes with Jackie Chan, in which they both are trained in judo, which Blackie obtained a blue belt. He has been in a relationship with Christine Fan for 10 years, before finally getting engaged in 2010. They were married in Taipei on May 7, 2011.

Currently the team leader and head of marketing for the Taiwan Beer Basketball Team, Chen directed a 2008 documentary entitled Attitude (態度) on the team's quest to become Super Basketball League champion. The documentary was well received and earned him widespread acclaim and accolades from the Taiwanese film industry. Many consider it the high-water mark of Taiwanese sports related documentary films.