David Chiang was born as Chiang Wei-Nien into a thespian family. He had an early start in showbiz. When he was a teenager, her appeared in films like "Street Boys" and Li Han-Hsiang's "The Kingdom And The Beauty." He officially started his martial arts career in 1966 when he was hired by wuxia master Chang Cheh as a stuntman for "Golden Swallow". His wiry ability quickly earned him the nickname "the Elastic Double".
The turning point of his career came in 1967 when Chang requested Chiang take up a speaking role in "The One-Armed Swordsman". Although the role was small, it gave the young Chiang a chance to show both his acting and his fighting prowess. This had marked the start of a relationship with Chang that spanned decades.
With Chang's support, Chiang finally made the jump from a unknown stuntman to a true star in his own right with the box office hit "Wandering Swordsman" in 1970. His next film "Vengeance" won him his first Best Actor Award at the Asian Film Festival.
Chiang eventually directed his own productions, and has taken part in TV series and other films in the more recent years.
(From the Celestial DVD edition of "Shaolin Temple").
Trivia: David Chiang currently lives in Vancouver, Canada and is married to Maggie Lee Lam-Lam. He has two daughters and a son.
- Celestial Pictures DVD biography
