Biografia

He had been an airline steward for seven years and had never acted in a film when Ang Lee cast him as his lead in Il banchetto di nozze (1993). They spent three to four hours every day to teach him how to act. Lee later cast him again in Mangiare bere uomo donna (1994).

Grew up in Taiwan, but his parents are from Laiyang, Shandong, China.

His father was a teacher and an expert on Yat-sen Sun.

Cooperates with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation and donates to the organization every time he plays Yat-sen Sun.

His character in Kabali (2016), Tony Lee, has a mentor whose name is Ang Lee. This is the same name as director Ang Lee, who discovered Chao and cast him in Il banchetto di nozze (1993) and Mangiare bere uomo donna (1994).