Actor Mark Chao has been around for quite a while as he’s going on 11 years in the business but in that amount of time, he has only done a handful of dramas. Aside from Midnight Diner and Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms in 2017 and an upcoming Ordinary Glory which he finished filming last year, we haven’t seen much of Mark Chao lately.
In a recent reality show called Me And My Agent (lit.) 我和我的经纪人, Mark Chao’s manager reveals the reason why Mark has only done a few projects. She says while there is no shortage of work for Mark, there are very few that are interesting. Mark also has several conditions he adheres to when taking on a job. One is that the script should be good. Second, the production team and PR team should be satisfactory and finally, there should be enough freedom for Mark to adjust his acting accordingly.
Mark Chao has also been actively involved in charities at his manager’s suggestion. He says that he uses a rabbit as a logo for his charities since the rabbit holds a special meaning to both him and his wife Gao Yuanyuan. Netizens have reacted to this by saying they were envious of Gao Yuanyuan because she was able to bag a gentleman as warm as Mark Chao. After 5 years of marriage, the couple are also expecting their first child.
Morelia
I'm Mark Chao's fan, but this article left me with the feeling that he is very arrogant 🙁 I think his manager's statements were unfortunate
Anonymous
I disagree that he is arrogant. I think for him, quality work and the ability to truly have the ability to also have some artistic freedom is important. True artists need this. He isn’t acting to just get any jobs. So I think he is privileged to be able to choose his projects and not accept everything that comes along. He knows this and hence I admire him more for doing constant charity work and being true to himself.
Unknown
What nonsense are you talking about ,if most actors in china will start using western standards in choosing their scripts ,we will not be having crapy as many crapy cdrama ,he is doing the right thing,that is what professional actors does ,cos chosing your script correctly mean wether your work will be successful or not ,get a grip ,he is not arrogant at all ,he is being professional and his performances in carrying out his roles is a testimony to his profesdionaism ,he is one of the the few chinese actors who works professionaly like western actors per choosing job and delivering when he got one ,i 'm his fan and will always support him .
Unknown
although he makes good points and is sticking to his craft. He has connections in the industry (dad is a director) which means he has more freedom than other artist. You have to be a big name and have a good backing to make a move like this is China.
thundergirl3
Let's be honest, if he was a mediocre actor then I agree that his conditions are a little arrogant and potentially even delusional. Let's face it there are plenty of actors who are only famous for their good looks and not much else.
He's definitely not one of them – he's an excellent actor and one that I particular like because he invokes all the emotions with his character protrayal.
Personally, I don't think the conditions are unreasonable, it indicates a certain confidence in himself and his desire to improve his profession which he considers is a work of art.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
Anonymous
He is not arrogant.
The arrogant ones are the people who keep on doing bad dramas after bad dramas, but they keep using their big names to promote their dramas and use fans to give out good reviews that are so fake when everything is just so shitty.
I don't care that he has a good background and network, like who doesn't? Even if you have a poor background, don't forget your network and the person who gave you the job. Many rich actors worked their way up too, and they rocked those small roles too. They are not those people who can only play "big roles" because all the minions around them won't get to be more interesting than them.
Mark did all his acting scenes and portrayed them well.
Jules Verne
I always thought that an actor's job is acting, and so a movie/tv drama is her/his workplace. What's wrong with wanting:
– A job that's interesting? (that the script should be good)
– Great working culture and supportive team? (the production team and PR team should be satisfactory)
– Having a say on how best to do one's job and not being micromanaged? (there should be enough freedom to adjust his acting accordingly)
That's *my* requirements when applying for jobs! Working is like a marriage. It's not just me that have to fit the work place, the work place also have to fit me. Unlike an office workplace however, if the marriage is not working out, as an actor you can't just quit the movie/TV drama you're working on so I think it's good that he knows the kind of environment he works best in.
Naksh B.
There's no arrogance there. If you know that you give 100% to each and every work that you do, it is just right to be careful in choosing a project. Mark is a true thespian, a great one at that. He is someone who takes performing to heart and would always want to hone his craft. A true professional.
C.T.
I see nothing wrong with his requirements. If I was an actor, I'd carefully select which roles I take on because it affects how I'm perceived as an actor later on. Not to go off on a tangent, but this reminds me a little of the Korean actor Gong Yoo. He also is very selective of the roles he'll take, and he's a pretty well respected and successful actor. I think Mark is an excellent actor as well and what I'd expect out of a professional.
Anonymous
What he said is very true, there are rarely any good script at all these days. None. It's really important to take good scripts and a good team. Only good actors with good ethics will choose carefully.
Sometimes, good actors can get labeled as bad/untalented actors really fast, even after taking on only 1 bad role.
For serious actors (like Mark) who don't buy fake reviews (FAIR COMPETITION), their projects have to be truly good without bias, it is really serious.
The team is important too. Understand that once you are included in a bad project then it is also your project, that's yours, can't just blame others all the time to save yourself, saying things like without your big name and super good acting to save the project everybody else sucked that's why things went wrong. A person who blames their team all the time isn't a very good person, so choose carefully. Doing such thing once might be a lesson but there's been a record of very lazy actresses/actors repeatedly doing the same mistakes over and over until you realize they're not mistakes, some people actually don't even give an f as long as they can be on screen to be honest. No, they're not poor and won't go bankrupt if they don't act in those bad projects, maybe pretending to be poor and having some sort of vulnerabilities can be a good excuses for once… even when people can already tell how successful/powerful they are in the industry and the decisions to take projects is also totally dependent on themselves. Some people really just choose bad projects overall, but at least some of them know how to endure their own consequences and kept quiet while some would always make fusses. Mark is smart to just choose carefully in the first place.
Anonymous
Totally agree with your on all points. Plus, I don't want to see a series or movies that the actor only show up for the pay check and not care to bring out the character. It’s one thing when you can’t choose but if you have the choice, then do it right.
Anonymous
How is he arrogant? He is a good actor and his work hasnt disappointed anyone so far. He chooses his project carefully instead of mass produce work which may or may not be good. I respect him for having standard instead of doing dramas/movies back to back. Younger new meat actor need to be in the spotlight constantly but Mark has been here long enough that he doesnt need constant work
Anonymous
I love Mark Chao not just for his charming aura but his acting prowess, intuition and wisdom. He just knows how to internalize his role and he sees the story holistically that's why he considers all aspects before chooaing a project. If the story is good but the working team is not,for instance, Mark van well predict it will flop. With his intuitive power he knows if the project will work because he looks at it from the top view. that's a wise perspective. myopic people only see money, fame, external appearances.Mark sees beyond. He sees through the elements of the story, how the conflict is resolved, how the cast and working crew will bring out the story alive, not dead. Mark is NOT arrogant. He is a real artist. the artist does not work for money but for the love of the work of art he is trying to fashion out of his creativity. I see a great artist in him. I feel it everytime he emits a human emotion so deep it pierces my heart. He even refuses to say lines that are way too vulgar to be uttered and which he finds unnecessary. The artist is non-conformant. He moves against the current and is not afraid to be himself. Mark is truly free. Free from want and desire for fame. He simply does a thing he understands and is willing to do. His thoughts are ao deep only artists qould be able to understand. I admire him a lot and I will always cherish the fact that I fell in love with Eternal Love. Thanks to his brilliant portrayal of Mo Yuan and Ye Hua. It has become a lifetime companion. I watch it daily and repeatedly.
JCS
I’m brand new to Asian genre programming. I stumbled upon Eternal Love on Netflix & now I’m hooked!!! Mark Chao’s a brilliant performer & I’d love to see a sequel to Eternal Love with “HIM” & Yang Mi in the starring roles.
If there’s any truth to the numbers (that there’s been over 56 BILLION views of Eternal Live) Mark Chao definitely was a key reason for the program’s success.
I’d love to see a promotional RE-release of Eternal Love in the U.S. market with the theme song “I’ll Do Anything For You” by Denroy Morgan as the sound bed! Yes that could perhaps make it catchy fun & alluring to another market.