Chen's first appearance on television was in the Channel 5 series Growing Up S1 in which he made a cameo appearance as a child version of Tay Wee Seng, older brother of Lim Kay Tong’s character Charlie Tay Wee Kiat’s older brother. He shot to prominence after winning Star Search 2007 and earned a contract with MediaCorp. He was given his first television roles the following year, most notably in the blockbuster period drama The Little Nyonya. Since then he has starred in many high-profile television dramas such as Unriddle, C.L.I.F., Code of Honour, Joys of Life, The Journey (trilogy series) and The Lead.