Deng Chao

Deng Chao ( zh, s=邓超, t=鄧超, p=Dèng Chāo, born 8 February 1979) is a Chinese actor and director. Deng received recognition for the television series ''The Young Emperor'' (2003) 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. His father has a son and a daughter, and His mother has a daughter. After they got married, they had Deng Chao. Since 1995, Deng studied in the theater program at the Jiangxi Vocational Academy of Art for three years. In 1998, he entered the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.

Career

2000–2006: Early work and breakthrough

During his junior year at college, Deng was cast in the hit play ''Cuihua Shang Suancai'', a student production presented by the Central Academy of Drama, through which he knew script-writer Yu Baimei, who would be his long-time professional partner. After graduation, he started filming dramas. He rose to fame with the 2003 historical drama ''The Young Emperor'' 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 October 1, 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 October 24, 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 September 21, 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 December 30, he served as the host of the Golden Rooster Awards Closing and Awards Ceremony.

On January 31, 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 July 30, he hosted the closing and awards ceremony of the 36th Hundred Flowers Awards for Popular Films.

On January 21, 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. They have two children, a son named Deng Han Zhi and a daughter named Deng Han Yi.

Life

On June 21, 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

Variety show

Discography

Awards and nominations

''Forbes'' China Celebrity 100

References

External links

Deng Chao
on Sina Weibo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Chao
1979 births
Living people
People from Nanchang
Chinese male stage actors
Male actors from Jiangxi
21st-century Chinese male actors
Chinese male film actors
Chinese male television actors
Film directors from Jiangxi
Central Academy of Drama alumni