Mark Chao has opened up about the harsh realities facing China’s entertainment industry. The 41-year-old actor, who is the son of veteran Taiwanese actor Allen Chao, has spent years building his career in mainland China after settling down with actress Gao Yuanyuan. While Mark Chao just gave another stellar performance with his return as a doctor in The Heart 2, he admits the industry’s downturn has become impossible to ignore.
In a recent interview with Portrait (人物), he was asked how he felt about the current climate that’s akin to a “cold winter” especially when he is known to be very particular when it comes to choosing scripts. He joked that it’s indeed cold, “like not needing to turn on the air conditioner in summer.” He added, “For example, the script offers you receive is a lot less than before. You are aware of many friends, colleagues who are waiting for work. It’s very easy to meet up because they’d say, ‘I’m free.'” Mark Chao revealed that during the first half of 2026, he received only about 10 scripts. It’s about half of what it was at its peak. Nevertheless, what he looks forward to is being able to keep working since it’s an outlet for him to create.
Mark Chao also spoke about the state of the film industry, saying, “Movies are basically gone.” He believes cinema is gradually becoming a niche rather than mainstream entertainment. In the past, he was asked about his shift towards indies versus commercial films like Detective Dee. He stressed that it’s not because he doesn’t want to, he doesn’t have traffic. “No one is asking me, and if they do, I’ll take the role,” he said. His own moviegoing habits have also changed, revealing that he now watches films only five or six times a year.
The actor also shared his thoughts on his daughter, Rhea. He would much rather she pursue another career, “If she can do something else, I’d rather she do something else.” He would only support her entering show business if acting were her true passion.
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Frozen
Hearing all these veteran actors/actresses say the same thing is so sad. “Acting is an art” has become completely lost behind all these idol and vertical dramas. If an idol actor is able to express some emotion with their eyes, its considered commendable. Everything is purely a cash grab now.
J-rabbit
I don’t think it is idol actors harming the profession. There has always been bad actors and good actors, good writing and bad writing, same with directing. What forces people out of work is lack of demand. During the depression in the US many people went to the movies to feel better because the movies made them feel happy; many of the C-entertainment reviews I read are complaints about unpleasant and confusing movie experiences with bad writing, bad directing, bad editing. People talk about the acting but not about the plots because the plots are not engaging the public in the majority of movies now. When movies are hits everyone talks about how the plots moved/inspired them; there’s a lack of interesting well crafted movies so people don’t want to go. Many say the movies in the theaters are not better than the cheap AI films on their phones.
Wendy
AI is going to choke China’s filming economy as it shuts down so many jobs in filming. With AI replacing background actors, staging, settings, writing, CGI effects, and background music there’s a domino effect hitting the subsidary jobs that would have supported all the people directly affected like managers, staffing, makeup/hair/costuming, voice actors, musicians, food providers and location stays, etc. These subsidary prefessions will have to fire people because less actors and crew on stages/sites means less customers and money. I know the CCP is fully funding the push for AI dominance but SO many people both young and old will be hurt by this that it strikes me as very foolish. Is there even a need for AI in filming other then to replace dangerous stunts? I feel pain for anyone in acting colleges and their families supporting their dreams; small roles are often how most make their start. There will be less students choosing this profession and even the colleges will have to pare back staff/courses as there will be less demand. This reckless forcing of AI into economic sectors it doesn’t need to be a main part of is going to seriously slow down these once thriving and properous moneymakers; just like the foolish crack down on gaming hamstrung it just when it was starting to really make a profit for many Chinese people. The economy is already suffering with too many people having difficulties finding work, why add a lot more by requiring AI in filming just to meet a government demand?
Chen Mo
AI won’t steal anyone’s. I spent a good day just telling AI to construct a particular software application. I thought the AI would do a decent job at understanding my instructions, so I never bothered to review the code as it was being written, All I did was blast instructions after instructions at the AI and never even checked the code once line by line. In the end the code didn’t even worked when I pasted the final result into the compiler.
I then had to start the project all over again from scratch. This time I had to scrutize everything the AI did. So people shouldn’t worry about AI destroying economies. You always need a human to look after the AI sort to speak.
Du
This does not come as a surprise, as C-ent has turned into a world of plastic surgery-altered faces, ghostly anorexic “traffic stars,” and heavy AI adoption.
I wonder if C-ent will ever be able to deliver masterpieces like *Farewell My Concubine* and others again.
I’m afraid that cheap consumerism has simply consumed the entire industry. All we are left with are idol actors, pretty made-up faces, poor scripts, endless remakes, and nothing else.