# Marcus Chang

Marcus Chang (Chinese: 張立昂; born 28 May 1983) is a Taiwanese actor, singer, and songwriter. He made his acting debut in the film Café. Waiting. Love (2014). He is best known for his leading roles in the television series Back to 1989 (2016), Behind Your Smile (2016-2017), Between (2018), and Lost Romance (2020), for which he won the Asian Star Prize at the 16th Seoul International Drama Awards in 2021.

## Early life and education

Chang was born on 28 May 1983 in Taipei, Taiwan. He has a younger brother named Jarvis (born 1986). After completing elementary school in Taiwan, Chang was sent to boarding school and enrolled at St Peter's College in Auckland, New Zealand. At a young age, he experienced the loneliness of being in a foreign country and had to learn to be independent. He sought comfort by turning to music. He began learning to play the piano and guitar from an early age and wrote his first song at 15, marking the start of his music journey
By 17, Chang aspired to become a professional singer-songwriter. Despite his family’s expectations for him to take over their business, Chang chose to pursue music academically. In 2005, he graduated from the University of Auckland with a bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts, specializing in Popular Music, and also studied jazz piano. Additionally, he studied Audio Engineering at the SAE Institute in Auckland.
After graduating, Chang returned to Taiwan to help with the family business due to his father’s health issues.
In 2007, Chang participated in One Million Star, a Taiwanese televised singing competition.
After completing his one-year mandatory military service in 2009 and following his father’s recovery, Chang decided to leave home due to his family’s opposition to his pursuit of music as a career. To support himself, he took on various jobs, including working at Taipei Children’s Amusement Park and Taipei Zoo, where he wore a mascot costume. He also composed songs for children’s theater productions and advertisements.
Chang is bilingual, fluent in both Mandarin and English.

## Career
### Acting career

In 2012, Chang appeared in commercials for CPC Corporation and Asia-Pacific Interactive Service, which led to his discovery by producer Angie Chai. He was subsequently signed by her management company, Star Ritz International Entertainment.
In 2014, he made his acting debut in Giddens Ko’s film, Café. Waiting. Love, portraying the mysterious crush of Vivian Sung’s lead character. In 2015, he was cast in the television series To the Dearest Intruder.
Chang’s breakthrough came in 2016 when he landed his first lead role in the television series Back to 1989, where he played Chen Che, a man from 2016 who accidentally travels back in time to 1989. His performance brought him increased recognition in Taiwan and earned him the Best Potential Award at the 5th Sanlih Drama Awards.
Chang later starred in the television series Behind Your Smile (2016-2017) as Zhao Yi-ting, a businessman driven by revenge. In 2018, he took on the role of Luo Cheng-kai, an ambitious executive, in the television series Between.
In 2019, Chang appeared in the film Nina Wu and made a cameo appearance in the television series Let's Go Crazy on Live!.
In 2020, Chang reunited with Vivian Sung in the romantic-fantasy series Lost Romance, in which he played dual roles: He Tian-xing, a calm and reserved CEO in the real world, and Situ Ao-ran, a tsundere and domineering CEO in a fictional romance novel world. He was highly praised for his ability to convincingly portray two contrasting characters. Lost Romance was named the “Most Popular Taiwanese Drama of the Year” by DailyView. Chang and Sung were lauded for their on-screen chemistry, which greatly contributed to the drama’s popularity. Chang’s performance in Lost Romance further expanded his fanbase, particularly among international audiences, and earned him the Asian Star Prize at the 16th Seoul International Drama Awards in 2021.
In 2021, Chang made a surprise cameo appearance in Giddens Ko’s film Till We Meet Again, playing the college “senior” of Vivian Sung’s character.
In 2022, Chang was hospitalized for 11 days due to a collapsed lung, requiring emergency treatment and an extended recovery period. After regaining his health, he made his return to acting in 2023 with the television series Trick or Love. However, shortly after his return, Chang took another hiatus, revealing that he had been struggling with a recurring collapsed lung, which led to pneumothorax.
After making a full recovery in 2024, Chang attended a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, for his upcoming black comedy miniseries A Controversial Entertainer, slated for release in 2025.

### Music career

Beyond acting, Chang has pursued a music career, releasing his debut extended play (EP), Zero (±1), on 31 August 2018, under Sony Music Taiwan. The EP reflects his dual identities as an actor and musician. Following the success of his debut EP, his second EP, Oxymoron, was released on 26 December 2019. He has held two solo concerts at Legacy Taipei. Chang has also contributed to the soundtracks of his television series, with notable songs including “Lose to You,” “Tonight I’m Here,” and “Talk to Me” from Lost Romance.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015 | To the Dearest Intruder | Zhang Zen Lun | |
| 2016 | Back to 1989 | Chen Che | |
| 2016-2017 | Behind Your Smile | Zhao Yi Ting | |
| 2018 | Between | Luo Cheng Kai | |
| 2019 | Let’s Go Crazy on LIVE! | Roy | Cameo |
| 2020 | Lost Romance | He Tianxing Situ Aoran | |
| 2022 | Fairy in the House | Celestial Star | Cameo |
| 2023 | Trick or Love | Guan Hengwei | |
| 2025 | Impression of Youth | Fine Arts Professor | Cameo |
| TBA | A Controversial Entertainer | | Filming |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2014 | Café. Waiting. Love | Yang Ze Yu | Official debut |
| 2017 | Therapist | Xu De | |
| 2018 | Nana's Game | Fang Cheng Wei | |
| 2018 | How to Train Our Dragon | Imaginary man | Cameo |
| 2019 | Nina Wu | Dong Fu | Cameo |
| 2021 | Till We Meet Again | Xiao Mi's classmate | Cameo |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2015 | Happy Together | Zhu Jia Hao |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2015 | Love Secretly | Chen Yu Chen |

### Music videos

| Year | Artist | Song Title |
| 2018 | Maggie Chiang | “Treasure” |

## Discography
### Extended plays

| EP # | Title | Details | Track listing |
| 1st | Zero (±1) | Released: August 31, 2018 Language: Mandarin Label: Sony Music Taiwan | Still Love You You & I Between Us Anti-single Singles Club |
| 2nd | Oxymoron | Released: December 26, 2019 Language: Mandarin Label: Sony Music Taiwan | Between Us 2.0-(DJ KenLin Remix) Talk to Me 1440 mins Tonight I'm Here |

### Singles

| Year | Song Title | Notes |
| 2018 | “Still Love You” | Between OST |
| 2018 | “You & I” | Between OST |
| 2019 | “Highway Lover” | |
| 2019 | “Tonight I’m Here” | Released in Marcourageous 1st Anniversary Special on October 15, 2019 Lost Romance OST |
| 2020 | “Lose to You” | Launched on all digital music platforms on June 5, 2020 Official music video launched on October 18, 2020 Lost Romance OST |

### Compositions

Music and lyrics written by Chang.
| Year | Song Title | Notes |
| 2011 | “When it Comes to You” | |
| 2011 | “I'll Be There” | |
| 2012 | “Don't Let Me Know” | |
| 2012 | “Chain Reaction” | |
| 2014 | “Pure Love” | Track by Wu Yong-bin |
| 2018 | “Sandwich Girl” | Track by Maggie Chiang Lyrics by Tian Le |
| 2018 | “Still Love You” | Between OST |
| 2018 | “You & I” | Between OST |
| 2018 | “Between Us” | Duet with Sam Lin Between OST |
| 2018 | “Anti-single Singles Club” | |
| 2019 | “Highway Lover” | Music co-written with Andrew Page |
| 2019 | “Tonight I'm Here” | Lost Romance OST |
| 2019 | “Talk to Me” | Lost Romance OST |
| 2019 | “1440 minutes” | |
| 2020 | “Lose to You” | Lost Romance OST |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2016 | Sanlih Drama Awards | Best Screen Couple Award | Back to 1989 | Won |
| 2016 | Sanlih Drama Awards | Best Potential Award | Back to 1989 | Won |
| 2016 | Sanlih Drama Awards | Best Actor Award | Back to 1989 | Nominated |
| 2021 | Vidol Drama Awards | Best Kiss Award (with Vivian Sung) | Lost Romance | Won |
| 2021 | Vidol Drama Awards | Best Love Scene Award (with Vivian Sung) | Lost Romance | Nominated |
| 2021 | Vidol Drama Awards | Best Actor Award | Lost Romance | Won |
| 2021 | Seoul International Drama Awards | Asian Star Prize | Lost Romance | Won |