Hao Chen

Tony Chen spent his childhood on the prairie of Inner Mongolia and northeast China. He learned singing and musical instruments as a teenager. He studied acting and directing in college from 1997 to 2001. Afterwards, he continued to study directing at Shanghai Theatre Academy. Having worked as a stage actor for several years, he made his TV debut as the flamboyant pleasure-seeker Dong Guoliang in the TV series The Spirits of Painting in 2003. In 2004, he lost significant weight to fit the image of frivolous playboy and opium addict, Master Guanghan in the hit show The Mansion Of The Fans. This noteworthy performance established his reputation as the number one young villain actor in China. In 2007, Mr. Chen played Qi Ruifeng, a materialistic opportunist, in the TV adaptation of the classic The Yellow Storm. For this role, he was chosen by the director who had played the same character in 1985. In 2010, he took the role as Huang Jianjun, a menacing drug lord and shrewd businessman adapted for screen from the hit novel Never Close Our Eyes. After a string of brilliantly villainous roles, he gained critical acclaim and increasing popularity as the most promising actor in China. He shot to stardom in the role of the tragic hero General Yuwen Chengdu in another classic adaptation Heros in Sui and Tang Dynasties in 2012. Critics lauded his iconic portrayal of a grim, but vulnerable aristocrat. In the 2010 movie Mr. and Mrs. Single, he played a straight man pretending to be a modish gay to save his job from a demanding female boss. His role as a faithful Mongolian king in the TV series Empire Qin demonstrated both his acting and equestrian skills. His decision to play the introverted and lunatic villain Japanese officer Shimizu Koichi brought him much controversy from his fellow Chinese. These performances offered audiences and critics evidence of his remarkable performing range.