On October 28th, a video of Deng Chao watching his son play basketball was shared by a netizen on social media, instantly causing a sensation online. In the video, Deng Chao was dressed casually, wearing a cap with his white hair peeking out from under the brim, resembling a 62-year-old Stephen Chow at first glance. The topic “Deng Chao is also getting old” quickly trended.
Deng Chao, who is 45 years old, has a happy and harmonious family with his wife Sun Li and their two children. On October 28th, a netizen happened to encounter Deng Chao watching his 12-year-old son, “Wait Wait,” playing basketball. Dressed in all black with a cap and sunglasses, he stood quietly on the sidelines, attentively watching his son on the court with a serious expression.
What caught everyone’s attention was Deng Chao’s full head of white hair, even his beard had turned white, giving him a somewhat weathered appearance. Netizens couldn’t help but remark that the once sunny boy on screen now appeared aged, almost unrecognizable. However, some netizens quickly revealed that Deng Chao’s white hair was for a new role he was playing – having previously had red hair, it had faded to white. Some even commented that with his white hair, Deng Chao’s back view resembled that of Stephen Chow, like a “copycat” version of him.
In fact, back in 2012, in his early thirties, Deng Chao made an appearance with a head of gray hair at the premiere of the movie “The Four.” Many at that time thought he must have dyed his hair grey at such a young age – when in reality, while filming “Breakup Master” and “Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings,” his hair had been dyed white for his roles. In his earlier appearances on the show “Run, Brother!” and in the movie “I Belonged to You,” Deng Chao also sported white hair. Observant netizens noticed that his white hair was irregularly distributed among his black hair, a difficult effect to achieve through dyeing.
Facing questions about his hair, Deng Chao admitted in 2016 that his white hair was indeed real. He denied that his premature greying was only due to a busy work schedule and irregular sleep patterns. He revealed that between 2003 and 2005, his father and older sister fell seriously ill one after the other. In order to earn money for their medical treatment, Deng Chao continuously took on acting jobs and shuttled back and forth between the set and the hospital. Deng Chao admitted that this was the busiest and most agonizing period of his life, and eventually, exhausted, he unexpectedly discovered white hair growing on his temples, experiencing firsthand what it means to have “premature greying due to worries.”
Deng Chao and Sun Li first met while filming the TV drama “Happiness Like Flowers,” and since then, Deng Chao’s acting career skyrocketed. He went on to appear in a number of films and TV series such as “The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber” and “Assembly,” becoming a popular star in the Chinese entertainment industry. In 2014, Deng Chao directed and starred in the movie “Breakup Master” and subsequently participated in the variety show “Run, Brother!”, showcasing his comedic talents and his popularity soared.
After the box office failure of his self-directed movie “The China Ping Pong: Counterattack” in 2023, Deng Chao has not appeared on the big screen for nearly two years. Apart from his participation in the variety show “Happy Camp,” he has focused more on his family, as evidenced by his presence at his son’s basketball game.
Despite Deng Chao and Sun Li’s good relationships in the entertainment industry, they were recently caught on camera having an argument with a passerby. In the footage that surfaced, Sun Li appeared anxious, checking her phone and looking around before approaching Deng Chao with their child, leading to an argument with the passerby. Sun Li was visibly upset, while Deng Chao also appeared angry, frequently patting their child’s back to calm the situation as they left.
Another angle of the video revealed that on that day, a “proxy photographer” (a netizen who takes high-definition photos of celebrities in public places) was filming the child’s face, leading to the confrontation between Sun Li, Deng Chao, and the individual. Netizens rallied behind Sun Li and Deng Chao, stating that “children are the bottom line of parents, and stars are also human beings; protecting children is a must” and “please refrain from disturbing others’ private lives.”