Chi was born in Phan Rang, Vietnam, to Chinese parents. In 1978, three years after the Fall of Saigon, eight-year-old Chi and his family escaped by boat to the United States. Upon their arrival, Chi and his family were placed in the Indian Town Gap Refugee Camp where they became sponsored by the Jewish League of America and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was there that Chi was raised with his nine brothers and three sisters.

Chi's acting career includes a key role as Dr. Greg Lee from the 1997 horror film The Relic. Chi's other film appearances include Indecent Proposal, Hot Shots! Part Deux, Gleaming the Cube, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, China Cry, Vietnam War Story: The Last Days and Kindergarten Cop.

Fluent in three languages, Chi has been honored for his acting and directing. His debut film as a Director and Producer is Catfish in Black Bean Sauce. The film was named to Variety's "Top 50 of 2001 Limited-Release Winner At The Box Office" list. The film won the Grand Jury Award at the 1999 and Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Florida Film Festival and Best Screenplay Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival. The film was named Best Feature Film and Audience Favorite at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.

Chi is the founder of Actor's Consortium and served as its Artistic Director from July 2002 through May 2005. Chi is CEO of a production company Black Hawk Entertainment.