The untimely death of 36-year-old Evan Siau, a promising Malaysian actor

Evan Siau, also known as Xiao Wenheng, was a Malaysian actor. He is known for his acting across Singapore and Malaysia.

(Images: Evan Siau, Facebook, unless noted otherwise)

Evan Siau was born on 3 December 1986 in Sabah, Malaysia. According to Sohu, Evan Siau chose to pursue acting after graduating from university in Australia. Evan Siau started out as an extra before he hit fame with a big event that would change his life in 2012.

Did you know that Evan Siau was also a contestant in the annual ‘Mr Malaysia International’ pageant? His good looks and charisma helped him come out as the top contestant and winner during his run in 2012, and his win helped pave his way to stardom!

From Oriental Daily, Evan Siau joined ‘Mr Malaysia International’ with no expectations and only signed up after being egged on by his friends.

According to NetEase, Evan Siau’s first foray into acting was not much of a success. Evan Siau had already appeared in several film, TV and stage productions before his entry into ‘Mr Malaysia’ but was relatively unknown then.

It was only after winning ‘Mr Malaysia International 2012’ that he shot to fame! Earning the title of ‘Mr Malaysia International’ came along with many acting, modelling and endorsement offers and this turned the spotlight back to on Evan Siau and his acting work!

Some of Evan Siau’s best-known works include ‘I Am Not a Loser’, ‘Pulse Heart’, ‘Break Free’, and ‘The Dawns Here Are Quiet’.

8days reported that Evan Siau’s work in ‘The Dawns Here Are Quiet’ was one that really showcased his talent – earning him a nomination for the Malaysian 13th Asli Drama Awards for Best Actor!

(Image: 8TV)

As is the case for several Malaysian Chinese actors, Evan Siau too starred in a Singapore TV production by Mediacorp! According to 8days, Evan Siau starred in ‘Break Free’ alongside Singapore big-name stars such as Tay Ping Hui and Andie Chen.

(Image: evansiau on Instagram)

Evan Siau was a star in Malaysia and also in Singapore. His role in ‘Break Free’ was so captivating and won the hearts of many Singaporeans for his portrayal of a queer man in the show.

(Image: Mediacorp)

Kwong Wah reported that two years ago in 2020, Evan Siau was alerted to a diagnosis that he was stricken with stomach cancer. Since then, the star started slowly withdrawing from the public scene and returned to his hometown to focus on battling his illness.

(Image: evansiau on Instagram)

From China Press, Evan Siau’s sister took to posting news of the actor’s passing on his socials – informing fans that he passed on 19th March from cancer.

The news was very unexpected for many fans and even insiders in the Entertainment circle itself as the star was very private on his diagnosis.

Zaobao reports that Malaysian actress and singer Stella Chen took to social media to send her condolences and grieve, lamenting why the actor withheld information that he was sick from her. The sentiment was also similarly shared by actor Douglas Wong, that he could not believe the news of his protégé’s passing – despite being one of the few who knew about his condition.

Hype reports that the actor’s funeral is being held in his hometown of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, till 23rd March.

Since starting in the industry in 2012, Evan Siau had racked up 10 years of acting experience before his passing at 36 years of age. We offer the deepest condolences to Evan Siau’s fans, friends and family.