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Anthony Chinn

Anthony Chinn (1930–2000) was a Guyanese supporting actor whose career took him from Georgetown to British television, international productions and some of cinema’s biggest adventure franchises. He made his UK film debut in 1957 and moved to London in 1961, establishing himself through the kind of compact character work that could give a scene texture without pulling it off course. British television kept Chinn busy during the following years. He appeared in series including The Avengers, Danger Man, The Protectors and Steptoe and Son, along with two episodes of UFO. His screen career also developed alongside the James Bond series: after early uncredited appearances in Dr. No, Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, he returned to the franchise as a Taiwanese businessman in A View to a Kill. Chinn’s film roles regularly placed him inside thrillers, comedies and large-scale adventures. He played Kitai in John Huston’s The Kremlin Letter, a Chinese assassin in The Pink Panther Strikes Again and a Chinese doorman in Revenge of the Pink Panther. In Raiders of the Lost Ark, he appeared as Mohan, adding another major adventure film to a résumé already shaped by genre cinema. Late in his career, Chinn played Mactilburgh’s technician in The Fifth Element. It was a small role, but one that suited a career spent moving confidently through busy cinematic worlds. Away from film and television, he also worked in theatre and appeared in television advertisements, including commercials for McEwan’s beer. Chinn’s filmography reflects the working life of a dependable supporting actor: familiar across decades of British television and present, sometimes briefly, in films audiences continue to revisit.