Jonathan Kos-Read
Jonathan Kos-Read, also known by the stage name Cao Cao, 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's Chinese stage name is namesaked after the infamous penultimate chancellor of the late Eastern Han dynasty, a historical figure well-known to most Chinese people via the classic literature Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Early life and education
Kos-Read was born in Torrance, California, in 1973. He attended the film and acting schools of New York University, but completed his university career there studying molecular biology. Kos-Read began studying Mandarin Chinese at New York University, and re-located to China in 1997. His first acting role was in 1999.Career
Kos-Read's roles have included: Kevin White in Princess [Der Ling (TV series)|Princess Der Ling], a cameo in Fit Lover, Babi in My Fair Gentleman, Pastor Landdeck in Empire of Silver, Mark in Mojin: The Lost Legend and Alexander Cunningham in Xuanzang. Kos-Read has also been featured on Here Comes Cao Cao, a reality program about his life broadcast on Beijing Television. The title of the show was a reference to the Chinese proverb "Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao will be there", roughly equivalent to the English saying, "Speak of the devil." 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. 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. 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.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.