Barney Cheng's illustrious career in Hollywood began in 2002 with a standout performance in Woody Allen's critically acclaimed film, Hollywood Ending. The New York Times praised Cheng's comedic timing, stating it was "surgically precise". The Orange County Register raved that Cheng "steals every scene he's in". Cheng had the honor of accompanying Allen to promote the film and to open the 55th Cannes Film Festival.
In addition to his acting career, Cheng is a multifaceted individual who works as a writer-director-producer. His award-winning films have collectively screened in over 100 film festivals worldwide. Cheng is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese, and he is particularly proud of his Chinese-English language feature, Baby Steps, which received the Tribeca Film Institute's All Access fellowship. Produced by the Oscar-winning producer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Baby Steps received jury and audience awards for best feature at numerous festivals.
Gravitas Ventures released Baby Steps to widespread critical acclaim and enthusiastic reception. The San Francisco Chronicle described the film as "engaging" and "touching". The Huffington Post raved, "Inarguably, here's a film created by and starring Asian Americans that is definitely worth applauding. Baby Steps is becoming more and more relevant by the second."
Cheng has been involved with several esteemed programs, including Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative, the NBCUniversal Directing Fellowship program, and is a Writer-Director Film Independent Fellow. Growing up in Los Angeles, Cheng attended Stanford University and later read political philosophy at Oxford University.
Cheng proudly celebrates his Taiwanese-American and LGBT intersectional identity and is a member of the board of PFLAG San Gabriel Valley API.
