Jonathan Kos-Read

Jonathan Kos-Read (born 1973), also known as Cao Cao (Chinese: 曹操; pinyin: Cáo Cāo), is an American film and television actor who has worked mostly in China. While well known in China, his work is little-known in the United States. Kos-Read uses the stage name Cao Cao, which is also the name of the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, a historical figure well-known to most Chinese people.[1]

Jonathan Kos-Read
Born1973 (age 49–50)
Torrance, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor

Early life and education

Kos-Read was born in Torrance, California, in 1973.[2] He attended the film and acting schools of New York University, but completed his university career there studying molecular biology.[2][3] Kos-Read began studying Mandarin Chinese at New York University, and re-located to China in 1997.[2] His first acting role was in 1999.[2]

Career

Kos-Read's roles have included: Kevin White in Princess Der Ling (2006), a cameo in Fit Lover (2008, also starring Nie Bing), Babi in My Fair Gentleman (2009, co-starring Kelly Lin and Sun Honglei), Pastor Landdeck in Empire of Silver (2009, also starring Aaron Kwok and Jennifer Tilly), Mark in Mojin: The Lost Legend (2015) and Alexander Cunningham in Xuanzang (2016). Kos-Read has also been featured on Here Comes Cao Cao, a reality program about his life broadcast on Beijing Television.[2][4] The title of the show was a reference to the Chinese proverb "Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will be there" ("说曹操曹操就到"), roughly equivalent to the English saying, "Speak of the devil."[5] He has starred in more than 75 productions. As a Caucasian who is fully fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Kos-Read frequently appears as the foreign love interest or villain, in roles that sometimes present stereotypical images of non-Chinese people.[2] In 2009, he also appeared on stage with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in a Mandarin-language version of the orchestra's multi-media concert piece "The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres," in performances in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing.[6] At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Kos-Read was one of those chosen to carry the Olympic torch on its way to the Olympic Stadium.[7]

Kos-Read had a successful career as a male model.

In 2021, Kos-Read published his first novel, The Eunuch, a mystery set in Imperial China.[8]

Personal life

Kos-Read is married to a Chinese citizen, Li Zhiyin, with whom he has two daughters, Roxanne and Persephone.[9] While continuing to work in the Chinese film industry, he has relocated to Barcelona, Spain with his family.[8]

References
  1. "Jiang Wen plays Cao Cao in new film". People's Daily Online. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  2. Stack, Megan K. (16 January 2011). "Cultural Exchange: Jonathan Kos-Read is 'the token white guy' in Chinese cinema". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  3. "In China, fame comes easier with a foreign face". China Daily. 1 August 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  4. "Cao Cao's Lovin' It". China Internet Information Center. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  5. Lorenzi, Rosella (28 December 2009). "Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives". Discovery News. Retrieved 15 January 2001.
  6. "Tafelmusik to Tour Asia with Mandarin version of The Galileo Project". Classissima. 12 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  7. 联想外籍火炬手传情荆州：让世界了解中国 [Lenovo foreign torchbearer in Jingzhou: Let the world know China]. ZDNet News (in Chinese). 4 June 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  8. "Jonathan Kos-Read: Inside China's Film and Television Industry". Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  9. Sebag-Montefiore, Clarissa (9 January 2015). "The American who became a movie star in China's Hollywood". Financial Times.

Further reading
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