Mark Chao (, born 25 September 1984) is a Taiwanese-Canadian actor and model. He made his television debut in the television series '' Black & White'' (2009), for which he won the

Golden Bell Award for Best Actor The Golden Bell Award for Best Leading Actor in a Television Series () is one of the categories of the competition for the Taiwanese television production, Golden Bell Awards The Golden Bell Awards () is an annual Taiwanese television and rad ...

. Since then, he has starred in films '' Monga'' (2010), ''

Caught in the Web ''Caught in the Web'' () is a 2012 Chinese drama film directed by Chen Kaige. In September 2012 it screened as a special presentation at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. The film was selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Forei ...

'' (2012), '' So Young'' (2013), '' Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon'' (2013), ''

Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe ''Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe'' () is a 2015 Chinese 3D adventure action film directed and co-written by Lu Chuan, and stars Mark Chao, Yao Chen, Rhydian Vaughan, Li Chen, Tiffany Tang and Daniel Feng. The film is an adaptation of Zhang Muy ...

'' (2015) and the television series '' Eternal Love'' (2017).

Early life

Chao is the son of actor and television host . He graduated from the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

in Canada, with a double degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. He started his career in the Taiwanese entertainment industry after he graduated.

Career

Mark Chao made his debut in the television drama '' Black & White'' (2009). His role as the rash, righteous and no-nonsense cop shot him to fame and won him the Best Actor award at the 44th

Golden Bell Awards The Golden Bell Awards () is an annual Taiwanese television and radio production award presented in October or November each year by the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development, a division of Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. It is th ...

. He then starred in his first film, '' Monga'' (2010). The gangster flick, directed by

Doze Niu Doze Niu (, also known as Niu Chen-zer; born June 22, 1966) is a Taiwanese actor, film director, show host, screenwriter, and producer. As a film director, he is best known for the Taiwanese film '' Monga''. Early life Niu was born in Taipei, ...

grossed more than NT$250 million (HK$61 million) in Taiwan, making it one of the most successful domestic productions. Chao won the Best Newcomer award at the

Asian Film Awards Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

for his performance as a solitary, self-loathing and intense gang member. Chao won the Best Actor in Leading Role at the 26th

Asian Television Awards The Asian Television Awards (launched in 1996), is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards comprises 56 categories across news, documentarie ...

(2021). Chao's successive films boosted his recognition in China. ''

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

'' (2012), directed by ''Monga'' director Doze Niu, became the highest-grossing Taiwanese film in the Mainland. He also starred in '' First Time'' alongside Angelababy, and reprised his role as Wu Yingxiong in the prequel of ''Black and White''. The same year, he starred in ''

'' directed by

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wi ...

. The film drew than six million viewers and praise from critics. Mark won the Best Actor award for the Hong Kong and Taiwan category at the

Huabiao Awards China Huabiao Film Awards (), also simply known as Huabiao Awards, is an annual awards ceremony for Chinese cinema. Named after the decorative Chinese winged columns ('' huabiaos''), The Huabiao Awards were first instituted in 1957 as the Ministr ...

. Chao then starred in

Zhao Wei Zhao Wei (; born 12 March 1976), also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, a ...

's directorial debut '' So Young'' (2013), playing an ambitious and nerdy China university student. The same year, he played

Di Renjie Di Renjie (630 – November 11, 700), courtesy name Huaiying (懷英), formally Duke Wenhui of Liang (梁文惠公), was a Chinese politician of Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, twice serving as chancellor during the reign of Wu Zetian. He was one of ...

in '' Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon'', the prequel to the popular Detective Dee film directed by

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, vi, Từ Khắc, born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. Tsui has directed several influential Hong Kong films such as '' Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain'' (1983), the ...

. Chao once again reprised his role as Wu Yingxiong in '' Black & White: The Dawn of Justice'' (2014), the sequel to '' Black & White Episode I: The Dawn of Assault''. He won the Best Actor award at the 16th

Huading Awards The Huading Awards are a set of entertainment awards in China. The awards were set up by Tianxia Yingcai Cultural Media Co., LTD () in 2007 in Beijing and are held more than once each year across multiple entertainment media from Chinese televis ...

for his performance. Chao was then cast to play Hu Bayi in ''

'' (2015), adapted from the best-selling tomb raid novel series ''

Ghost Blows Out the Light ''Gui Chui Deng (Ghost Blows Out the Light)'' (), also referred to as ''Candle in the Tomb'', is a fantasy novel series written by (天下霸唱) about a team of grave robbers seeking hidden treasure, with the first book published online in March ...

''. The film, directed by Lu Chuan, was a hit at the box office but received mixed reviews in regard to its faithfulness to the novel. The following year, he starred in the Chinese-French film '' The Warriors Gate'', directed by Matthias Hoene and filmed in English. Chao made his return to television after 8 years in fantasy romance drama '' Eternal Love'' (2017). Though Chao's casting as the beautiful male lead was originally met with criticism, he eventually won praise for his acting. After the series aired, Mark experienced an explosive rise in popularity and increased film offers. Chao ranked 36th on ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

China Celebrity 100 The ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 is a list published annually by ''Forbes'' that ranks the influence of Chinese celebrities. First published in 2004, it is similar to Celebrity 100 also published by ''Forbes''. Factors that are taken into acco ...

list in 2017. In 2018, Chao starred in the romance film ''Till the End of the World'', which was shot in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

. He is also set to reprise his role in '' Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings''. The same year, Chao was cast in

Lou Ye Lou Ye (), born 1965, is a Chinese screenwriter- director who is commonly grouped with the " Sixth Generation" directors of Chinese cinema. Films Born in Shanghai, Lou was educated at the Beijing Film Academy. In 1993, he made his first film ''W ...

's period drama film ''Saturday Fiction''. Chao is set to return to the small screen with the Chinese remake of South Korean television series '' Misaeng'', titled ''Ordinary Glory''.

Personal life

Mark married Chinese actress

Gao Yuanyuan Gao Yuanyuan (, born 5 October 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She ranked 64th on ''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100 list in 2013, 40th in 2014, 76th in 2015, and 86th in 2017. Career Gao Yuanyuan was born in Beijing and graduated from China In ...

in 2014. The two met on the set of ''

'' and welcomed a daughter - Rhea Chao in June 2019, one month after announcing that Gao was pregnant.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Mark Chao at chinesemov.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chao, Mark 1984 births Living people 21st-century Taiwanese male actors Taiwanese male film actors Taiwanese male television actors Male actors from Taipei Naturalized citizens of Canada University of Victoria alumni Best Newcomer Asian Film Award winners