Duan Chun-hao

Duan studied performing arts at Hwa Kang Arts School [zh].^[3][4] He was a basketball team member in junior high and high school.^[5] During high school, he suffered from a spinal disc herniation and underwent multiple surgeries,^[6] which led to him skipping mandatory military service.^[6][7] At the age of 16, he began working part-time as a production assistant while studying at Hwa Kang, including on projects by Chang Hwa-kun, who also offered him a bit part in the Japanese film Rainy Dog which he produced.^[8]

After graduating from Hwa Kang, Duan continued working as a production assistant and was invited by Chang to star in films, including the 2000 titles A Chance to Die and The Cabbie.^[8] Chang also recommended him to filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, who signed Duan as an actor in 1999 when he was 18.^[8][9] At the age of 19, Duan landed a lead role as Hao-Hao alongside Shu Qi in Hou's 2001 romance film Millennium Mambo.^[1][10] That same year, he had a recurring role in the drama series Kiss of the Toast [zh], which garnered him public recognition.^[11]

In 2002, he starred in the anthology film Fancy 25,^[12] which garnered him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 39th Golden Horse Awards.^[13] Following this, Duan decided to further his studies in acting at the Beijing Film Academy, where he stayed for eight years and even purchased a home in Beijing.^[14] During this time, he participated in several film projects, including lead roles in the 2007 film Reflections directed by Yao Hung-i, a colleague under Hou Hsiao-hsien,^[15] and the 2011 Chinese romantic comedy Single No More [zh].^[16]

Duan returned to Taiwan in 2014 and pursued a television career, landing a leading role in the series Our Mother.^[17] He also starred in the 2017 drama film Missing Johnny,^[18] as well as the 2018 films Cities of Last Things and Long Day's Journey into Night.^[19][20] In 2019, he played the lead role as Chen Shu-wen in the sports drama film We Are Champions [zh], portraying the coach of a high school basketball team,^[21][22] which earned him nominations for Best Supporting Actor in the 56th Golden Horse Awards and the 22nd Taipei Film Awards.^[23][24] He has also appeared in the Japanese film First Love, directed by Rainy Dog's director Takashi Miike,^[25] and in the crime series CSIC 2 [zh].^[26]

In 2020, he took on a lead role in the drama film Eclipse [zh] and a recurring role in the romance series Falling into You.^[27][28] Duan had another breakthrough performance in the 2022 HBO Asia series Twisted Strings [zh], where he portrayed six different characters, including as a mortician, a pimp, a homosexual, and a police detective.^[24][29] His performance earned him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film in the 57th Golden Bell Awards.^[30] In 2023, he had a lead role in the drama film Be With Me [zh] and a recurring role in the 2024 crime series Not a Murder Story [zh] .^[31][32]

Duan briefly dated Malaysian actress Angelica Lee in 1996.^[33] He was in a two-year relationship with fellow Hwa Kang alumnus Yvonne Yao from 2015 to 2017.^[34][35] In the same year, he began a relationship with an Amis native woman,^[36] and the two married in November 2018.^[37] They welcomed a daughter in April 2020.^[38]