China ‘goddess’ actress makes comeback in Hong Kong crime thriller, stuns audiences at Cannes
Although Gao did not attend theatre academy, only studied public relations at university, her acting career flourished
Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan has made a notable comeback to the media spotlight with her new Hong Kong film, Sons of the Neon Night, which recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
After marrying Taiwanese-Canadian actor Mark Chao in 2014 and welcoming a daughter in 2019, Gao significantly reduced her public exposure, making her return to showbiz especially stunning for fans who observed that she seemed to have not aged at all.
Sons of the Neon Night, a Hong Kong dystopian crime thriller, had its world premiere at Cannes on May 17. Gao graced the red carpet alongside director Juno Mak and co-stars Tony Leung Ka-fai and Louis Koo Tin-lok, while the other two main actors, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Sean Lau Ching-wan, were notably absent.
In the film, Gao portrays a retired therapist with a “mysterious” character. She described the role as making her feel “strange” in a positive way. Reflecting on the 2005 film Shanghai Dreams, which brought her to Cannes two decades ago, she recounted receiving a comment that suggested she was simply “being herself” in that film, a notion that has lingered with her since.
She said that for years she has sought to connect her roles with her personal self while maintaining a degree of distance.
Sons of the Neon Night began shooting in 2017 and took eight years to reach audiences. The film features music composed by the legendary Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died in 2023.
On Chinese social media, Gao is affectionately referred to by many as their “childhood goddess”.