Desmond Chiam

Desmond Chiam is an Australian actor best known for his role as Wyatt Cole on Reef Break and General Riga on The Shannara Chronicles.

Chiam was born in Melbourne, Australia to parents of Chinese Singaporean descent. As a child he spent a third of the year in Singapore as his father often worked there. He holds a law degree from the University of Melbourne and also a master's degree in Screenwriting from University of Southern California. He was CLEO Singapore's Bachelor of the Year in 2011.

He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife.

Chiam first pursued a career as a lawyer after he graduated from the University of Melbourne. Unsatisfied with a law career after three months, he decided to pursue more creative fields in breakdancing and acting.

He first started in short films in Australia before eventually appearing in Australian television in series such as Neighbours and Better Man. He eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.

Chiam has had roles in multiple American television series including NCIS: Los Angeles and Bones, and was also in Con Man, a webseries by Alan Tudyk.

In February 2017, he joined the main cast of Spike TV's The Shannara Chronicles (the series was formerly on MTV) in the show's second season where he played the villain, General Riga.

He was cast as Jethro, boyfriend to Carly played by Kelli Berglund, in the Starz series Now Apocalypse starring Avon Jogia by Gregg Araki. Following the series, he joined the cast of the Manila-set film Empty by Design working alongside friends Chris Pang, Osric Chau, Yoshi Sudarso, and Andrea Walter.

In December 2018, he was cast as the male lead Wyatt Cole in ABC and M6's 2019 summer crime series Reef Break opposite Poppy Montgomery. Following Reef Break's cancellation, Chiam joined the cast of the Disney+ Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in an undisclosed role.

CLEO Singapore, "Most Eligible Bachelor" (2011)