Bao Guo'an

Bao Guo'an (born 4 June 1946) is a Chinese actor and professor in the Central Academy of Drama. Best known for his role as Cao Cao in the 1994 television series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Bao won two Best Actor awards at the 1995 Golden Eagle Awards and Flying Apsaras Awards. Bao was also a delegate in the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 2003. Bao commented, "If Lin Zexu was an example of a firm and assertive hero, then Wu Dengyun is a kind and tender hero." Zhen Xin was shot in the Pamir Mountains at an altitude of 5,000m. Bao suffered from severe high blood pressure and during the descent he had to be carried, wearing an oxygen mask and on IV drip. Recalling this incident, he said, "I almost lost my life in making this movie." As Bao was very absorbed into his role, he would feel like crying each time he sees Wu Dengyun, with whom he has developed a close friendship, and when he is reminded of Wu's daughter. He said, "After Wu Dengyun's daughter died, her body was transferred to the morgue in the hospital where Wu Dengyun worked. Every night, he would light a lamp and go to the morgue to see his daughter. This is the "tender" side of the hero Wu Dengyun! Until today it still moves me deeply."

Romance of the Three Kingdoms Although Bao has portrayed heroes and protagonists many times on screen, his best known role to date, however, is that of an antagonist — "Cao Cao" in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a 1994 television series based on the classical novel of the same title. Before shooting started, Bao told the producers that he wanted his portrayal of the character to be "answerable to his family and audiences". He was very focused and diligent in preparing for his role, doing extensive research and spending long periods of time pondering over his character. Bao decided not to limit himself to the traditional image of Cao Cao as a villain, so he based his Cao Cao on his personal interpretation of the character in the novel and the Cao Cao described in historical texts. Bao's performance in Romance of the Three Kingdoms propelled him to fame and earned him two Best Actor awards at the 1995 Golden Eagle Awards and Flying Apsaras Awards. He wanted to reject the offer for the role but found it hard because the director and producers were his old friends. In one scene, the emperor is shown shedding tears when sending off his daughter to a distant land to marry a Tujue leader. Bao recalled that he had never been so emotional in any of his previous projects except for Zhen Xin. Bao commented, "He was an emperor but he was also a person! No matter how bad he was, he was still flesh and blood." Bao later revealed that he had imagined Emperor Yang's daughter as his young granddaughter, so he could not hold back his tears at the thought of his granddaughter leaving him. Bao also explained that he wanted to present a complete, three-dimensional, vivid, and historically accurate portrayal of Emperor Yang, which boils down to his flamboyant costumes, as the emperor was known for his extravagance.

Current work Apart from teaching at the Central Academy of Drama as a professor, Bao continues to remain active in the entertainment industry although he hardly plays leading roles now. Bao mentioned that as he grew older he felt that he has become more mature in his career. He once said that an actor should take precautions not to "slip" as age catches up with him, because if he "slips" he would lose his "explosive power" in acting.

Filmography

Film

TV dramas