Ko Chen-tung

Biography

Kai Ko Chen-tung (Chinese: 柯震東; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Koa Chìn-tong; born Ko Chia-kai on 18 June 1991) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and film director.

Career

Ko rose to fame with You Are the Apple of My Eye (2011), for which he won Best New Actor at the 48th Golden Horse Awards and 12th Chinese Film Media Awards. He released his debut studio album, Be Yourself, the same year.
Following the success of the Tiny Times film series, his career was disrupted in 2014 when he was arrested in Beijing for marijuana possession, along with Jaycee Chan, leading to their blacklisting in mainland China. Ko's scenes in the Chinese films Monster Hunt and Tiny Times 4 were removed. His advertisement deals and his variety show engagements were also cancelled.
Ko returned to acting with The Road to Mandalay (2016) in Taiwan. In 2020, A Choo, a film he had acted in before the 2014 arrest, was released in Taiwan after he acquired the distribution rights from the Chinese copyright holder.
In 2021, Ko worked with Giddens Ko again in Till We Meet Again. In 2022, Ko won Best Actor at the 24th Taipei Film Awards for his role in the film.

Relationships

Ko dated Cherry (黃慶宜), a TV showgirl, before he became famous for You Are the Apple of My Eye. He made headlines when his romance with pop singer Elva Hsiao, who is 12 years senior to him and a bigger star, broke in 2012. Ko then has an on-and-off relationship with singer Tia Lee since 2014.

Drug use

Ko had appeared in a 2012 anti-drug advertisement in Taiwan in which he and other celebrities declared, "I don't use drugs".
On 18 August 2014, Ko was arrested along with Jaycee Chan by the Beijing Police for drug use, amid a broad anti-drug crackdown on the Chinese celebrities. Police said both actors tested positive for marijuana and admitted using the drug. Ko was placed in administrative detention for 14 days. He was released on 28 August and faced another round of interrogations by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office after returning to Taiwan.
On 29 June 2018, NARS invited Ko to a promotional event in Taipei. After backlash on Weibo, NARS China issued a statement on 1 July expressing regret over the Taiwan team’s decision and apologizing; Ko deleted his social media posts of the event the same day.