Deng Chao

Deng Chao (, born 8 February 1979) is a Chinese actor and director. Deng received recognition for the television series The Young Emperor and Happiness as Flowers (2005). He later shifted his focus to films, starring in the box office hits Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010), American Dreams in China (2013), The Dead End (2015), for which he won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actor, The Mermaid (2016), Duckweed (2017), and Shadow (2018). He also directed and starred in The Breakup Guru (2014), Devil and Angel (2015) and Looking Up (2019). He was a cast member of variety show Keep Running from 2014 to 2019. He has been a cast member of web show HAHAHAHAHA since 2020.

Early life Deng was born into a second marriage family in Nanchang, Jiangxi, on 8 February 1979. His father was a museum secretary, and his mother was a factory cadre. and further gained popularity with director Gao Xixi's military drama romance Happiness as Flowers, co-starring Sun Li.

2007–2012: Increasing recognition Due to his rising popularity, Deng scored a role in Feng Xiaogang's war film Assembly. For the film, Deng won the Best Supporting Actor at the Hundred Flowers Awards, successfully making his crossover to the big screen. The same year, he co-starred in Cao Baoping's romantic thriller The Equation of Love and Death and was awarded the Society award at the Golden Phoenix Awards for his performance.

In 2010, he starred in Tsui Hark's action-mystery film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame, playing an albino detective named Bei Dong Lai. He earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Deng next starred in fantasy film Mural (2011), directed by Gordon Chan and adapted from the renowned ghost novel "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". In 2012, he played Cold Blood in the wuxia film The Four, based on Woon Swee Oan's novel series Si Da Ming Bu (The Four Great Constables).

2013–2015: Directorial works and Keep Running In 2013, Deng starred as one of the three male leads in Peter Chan's film American Dreams in China, about three young men from poor backgrounds who achieved success by establishing an English teaching school. The film was a commercial success and earned positive reviews. Taipei Times called the movie a "a well-executed work of entertainment that preaches about China's growing power" and praised Deng for "delivering a focused performance as an idealist with a defeated ego".

Deng made his directorial debut with The Breakup Guru (2014), a romantic comedy co-created by him and Yu Baimei. Though it faced stiff competition from Hollywood blockbusters, the film grossed 180 million yuan in its opening week and ended up as one of the highest-grossing films in China that year. The same year, he joined Keep Running, a remake of the South Korean variety program Running Man. Keep Running enjoyed explosive popularity in China. That year, Deng was chosen as the Most Valuable Chinese Actor.

Deng then starred in crime film The Dead End directed by acclaimed director Cao Baoping, and was praised by critics for "breathing life into the role with riveting performances", as well as his chemistry with co-star Duan Yihong. He shared the Best Actor award with co-stars Duan and Guo Tao at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival, and won another Best Actor trophy at the Golden Rooster Awards. Deng teamed up again with Yu Baimei for the comedy film Devil and Angel, following the success of The Breakup Guru. However, unlike its predecessor, the film was voted the Most Disappointing Film of 2015 and received criticism for its poor approach to comedy.

2016–present: Success on the big screen In 2016, Deng starred in Stephen Chow's film The Mermaid, where he plays a playboy businessman who falls in love with a mermaid that had been sent to assassinate him. The film broke numerous box office records, including biggest opening day and biggest single-day gross through its seventh day of release. Due to his success on the big screen, CBN Weekly named him the 3rd most commercially valuable celebrity in China; and the most lucrative actor on China's big screen that year.

In 2017, Deng starred in Han Han's sleeper hit Duckweed, playing a rebellious car racer who thinks that his parents misunderstood him. He next starred in the suspense crime film, The Liquidator, based on the bestselling crime novel series Evil Minds: City Light and directed by acclaimed TV director Xu Jizhou.

In 2018, Deng starred in Zhang Yimou's historical film, Shadow.

In 2019, Deng starred in the family drama film Looking Up, which he co-directed.

On 1 October 2020, the segment "The Way Home" from the drama film "My People, My Homeland", co-directed with Yu Baimei, was released. In the film, he played Qiao Shulin, a distributor of "Shadi Apples." On 24 October, he participated in the China Media Group's literary and artistic gala "Heroic Sons and Daughters – Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteers Army's Participation in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea."

In 2021, he served as the initiator of Tencent Video's international youth cultural exchange and boy group development program "CHUANG 2021." On 21 September, he co-hosted the "Bay Area Rising Moon – 2021 Greater Bay Area Mid-Autumn Film and Music Gala" along with Lan Yu, Nicholas Tse, Pang Wei, and others. On 30 December, he served as the host of the Golden Rooster Awards Closing and Awards Ceremony.

On 31 January 2022, he participated in the 2022 China Media Group Spring Festival Gala, performing in the segment "Joyful and Auspicious Year" and singing the song "Sense of the Times." On 30 July, he hosted the closing and awards ceremony of the 36th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films.

On 21 January 2023, he participated in the 2023 China Media Group Spring Festival Gala.

Personal life Deng dated Nie Ning since they were both students at the Jiangxi Vocational Academy of Art. Nie was later admitted to the Central Academy of Drama, a year junior to Deng. They broke up after four years of relationship.

From 2002 to 2005, Deng dated his The Young Emperor co-star Hao Lei.

Deng has been married to actress Sun Li since 2010.

On 21 June 2014, he first launched his Sina Weibo account. In December 2015, Madame Tussauds created a wax figure of Deng Chao, and the figure was displayed at the Madame Tussauds museums in Beijing and Wuhan in 2016.

Filmography Film

Television series Year English title Chinese title RoleNotes/ 2001 The Joy of Spring 换了青春 Liang Dawei 2003 The following is the fertile soil of sand 黄沙下面是沃土 Wang Heiyuan The Young Emperor 少年天子Shunzhi Emperor2004 Beijing Holiday 北京假日 Liu Xiaodong 谍战之特殊较量 Zhao Zhiqiang 2005 The Royal Swordsmen 天下第一 Zheng De Happiness as Flowers 幸福像花儿一样 Bai Yang Young Kangxi 少年康熙 Kangxi Emperor 明末风云 Chongzhen Emperor 风流才子翻转天 Kuang Nanhai 2006 爱了散了 Chen Feng Young Justice Bao III 少年包青天3 Bao Zheng New Stars in the Night 新昨夜星辰 Zhou Xinbang 2007 Silent Tears 女人不哭 Zhao Jian 2008 Romantic West St. 浪漫的西街 Hu Dawei 甜蜜蜜 Lei Lei Rich Man Poor Love 钻石王老五的艰难爱情 Meng Hao 2009 Human Love 人间情缘 Li Xiaojun Medic 军医 Lin Bingkun The Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber 倚天屠龙记 Zhang Wuji 2010 You're My Brother 你是我兄弟 Ma Xuejun 2011 Love of Yan'an 延安爱情 Peng Chengdou 2014 Ten Years of Love 相爱十年 Xiao Ran 2017 Master Healing 复合大师 Mei YanguiSpecial appearance

Variety show Year English title Chinese title Role Notes 2014–2018 Keep Running 奔跑吧 Cast member/Leader 2021 Produce Camp 2021 创造营2021 Mentor

Discography

Accolades Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 200829th Hundred Flowers AwardsBest Supporting ActorAssembly 200927th Golden Rooster AwardsBest Supporting Actor Golden Phoenix Awards Male Actor in a Motion Picture 201130th Hong Kong Film AwardsBest Supporting ActorDetective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame 201310th Guangzhou Student Film FestivalMost Popular Actor American Dreams in China 201518th Shanghai International Film FestivalBest ActorThe Dead End 52nd Golden Horse Film AwardsBest Actor 20167th China Film Director's Guild AwardsBest Actor 33rd Hundred Flowers Awards Best Actor 201731st Golden Rooster AwardsBest Actor 2018 9th China Film Director's Guild Awards Best Actor Duckweed 55th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards Best Leading ActorShadow 201925th Huading Awards Best Actor 11th Macau International Movie FestivalBest ActorLooking Up

Forbes China Celebrity 100 YearRank 201485th 201527th 201712th 201918th 202097th