Mark Chao

Chao is the son of actor and television host Allen Chao [zh]. He graduated from the University of Victoria in Canada, with a double degree in sociology and economics. After he graduated, he started his career in the Taiwanese entertainment industry.^{[citation needed]}

Mark Chao made his debut playing Wu Yingxiong in the television drama Black & White (2009).^{[citation needed]} 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.^[4] He then starred in his first film, Monga (2010).^[5] The gangster flick, directed by Doze Niu, became a critical and commercial success,^[6][4] winning him the Best Newcomer at the Asian Film Awards.^[7]

After reuniting with Niu in Love (2012),^[8] Chao branched out of Taiwan by starring in First Time opposite Angelababy.^[9] He reprised his role of Wu Yingxiong in Black & White Episode I: The Dawn of Assault, the film prequel of Black & White.^[10][11] The same year, he starred opposite Gao Yuanyuan in Caught in the Web directed by Chen Kaige,^[12] winning him the Best Actor award for the Hong Kong and Taiwan category at the Huabiao Awards.^[13]

Chao then starred in Zhao Wei's directorial debut So Young (2013), playing an ambitious and nerdy China university student.^[14] The same year, he played Di Renjie in Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon, directed by Tsui Hark.^[15][16]

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.^[17] He won the Best Actor award at the 16th Huading Awards for his performance.^[18]

Chao was then cast to play Hu Bayi in Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe (2015), adapted from the best-selling tomb raid novel series Ghost Blows Out the Light. The film, directed by Lu Chuan, was a box office hit but received mixed reviews regarding its faithfulness to the novel.^[19] The following year, he starred in the Chinese-French film The Warriors Gate, directed by Matthias Hoene.^[20]

Chao made his return to television after 8 years in fantasy romance drama Eternal Love (2017).^[21] 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, he experienced an explosive rise in popularity and increased film offers.^[22]

In 2018, Chao starred in the romance film Till the End of the World, which was shot in Antarctica.^[23] He is also set to reprise his role in Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings.^[24] The same year, Chao was cast in Lou Ye's period drama film Saturday Fiction.^[25]

From 2009 to 2011, Chao dated his Black & White co-star Ning Chang. They did not acknowledge their relationship until 2014, when they promoted their film Black & White: The Dawn of Justice on talk show Kangsi Coming.^[26]

After meeting on the set of Caught in the Web, Chao married Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan in 2014.^[27] They welcomed a daughter, Rhea Chao, in June 2019, one month after announcing that Gao was pregnant.^[28]