MATT TRUSCH may not be a household name in China. But look out - the 29-year-old actor, better known as Cai Manshou, may be finding his way on to a mainland television or movie screen near you.
The Mandarin-speaking American is making a name for himself in China's entertainment world after abandoning a promising job at financial management company Merrill Lynch and a chance to nail down a PhD in Chinese history at Harvard University.
He is clearly used to being pulled in different directions - his father is a marriage counsellor and his mother is a divorce lawyer. Asked why he has persisted on his present course, he says: 'What else is a 5-foot 9-inch [1.75-metre] Jewish guy from Texas supposed to do?' More seriously, Trusch does have a competitive edge in China. 'I'm a bit of a novelty,' he says. 'And I'm taller here.' Taller or not, there aren't many Western actors who speak Chinese well.
There is, of course, Mark Rowswell, the Canadian who is better known as Da Shan, a television host and star of Mandarin 'cross talk' comedy acts. But few others have managed to leap the cultural divide in the entertainment field.
Trusch does have a bit of show business in the family. His father has been a cantor, or singer of religious music, at his local synagogue while his mother previously worked as a television producer. One of his sisters is a flamenco dancer and another is a dance therapist.
He spent three months in London studying classical acting with teachers from the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is also no stranger to China or its culture, having studied Mandarin at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas. He took off for Harbin in northeast China during his sophomore year at Dartmouth College. He later earned a master's degree in Chinese history at Harvard University.