Tzi Ma and Christine Ko in 'Tigertail' Photo: Netflix Photo: Netflix

Tzi Ma is one of those actors you recognize instantly but the name escapes you — if you ever even knew it. You might realize that he is the dad in “The Farewell,” Yao in “Silicon Valley,” General Onada in “The Man in the High Castle,” Lu-Chi Jang in “Veep” or Mr. Young in “Wu Assassins.” Or you might remember him simply as that guy who has appeared in everything from “ER” to “Jag” and “The Practice.” Look up “character actor” in the dictionary and don’t be surprised if you see his picture.

Well, the Hong Kong-born performer gets to be front and center in “Tigertail,” a moving, low-key saga set over three generations of a Taiwanese family, that begins streaming on Netflix Friday. Tzi Ma is Pin-Jui (though Grover is his Americanized name), a lonely, middle-aged divorced man in New York City who feels he has had all the life sucked out of him. He has a daughter named Angela (Christine Ko, “Hawaii Five-0”) but she’s estranged, claiming she doesn’t know how to talk to him.

How he arrived in such a spot is the essence of “Tigertail,” which begins in rural Taiwan where Pin-Jui as a boy lives in poverty with his mother and hangs out with a girl named Yuan. Later, as a young man (played by Hong-Chi Lee), Pin-Jui, who works a low-wage factory job with his mother, is good-naturedly rebellious, devil-may-care and in love with Yuan (Yo-Hsing Fang).

Pin-Jui is a far cry from the desiccated soul that he will become far in the future. After all, he’s into rock’n’roll and he and Yuan love Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay.” What could go wrong?

Well, everything. Pin-Jui comes to the realization that he needs to do something to help his struggling mother. So when his boss offers him the chance to work in the United States — if he will marry his extremely shy daughter Zhenzen (Kunjue Li) — Pin-Jui reluctantly agrees to do the adult thing, even though the date they go out on is a swipe-left disaster. But if it can offer Pin-Jui and his mother a better life, it will be the right thing to do.

That’s partly how Pin-Jui ended up sad and alone, leading a life unlived, wondering whatever became of Yuan (played by Joan Chen, from “The Last Emperor” and “Marco Polo,” as an adult).

“Tigertail” is the first feature from writer/director Alan Yang, and it’s not what would be expected from someone whose résumé includes such celebrated sitcoms as “The Good Place,” “Master of None” and “Parks and Recreation.” “Tigertail,” mostly a period piece that’s also a well-wrought portrait of a man closed off from life whose despair is etched into his very being, isn’t satiric or comedic in the slightest.

More Information "Tigertail" Rated PG: for thematic elements, language, smoking and brief sensuality Running time: 92 minutes Where: streaming on Netflix **** (out of 5)

“Tigertail” is a showcase for Tzi Ma, who delivers an understated but heartfelt performance. After this, maybe more will remember the name that goes along with the face.

cary.darling@chron.com