Kai Ko earns Golden Horse nomination for comeback film

Kai Ko has been revealed to be among the nominees for the 53rd Golden Horse Awards Best Actor award for his role in The Road To Mandalay; his fellow nominees are Tony Leung (Cold War 2), Michael Hui (Godspeed), Jacky Cheung (Heaven in the Dark) and Fan Wei (Mr. No Problem).

The 25-year-old picked up the Golden Horse for Best New Actor in 2012 for his breakout role in You Are the Apple of My Eye but got in trouble with the law for drug use in 2014. He spent two weeks behind bars and was banned from Chinese broadcasts, slowly working his way back to an acting comeback through charitable appearances.

In The Road to Mandalay, Kai Ko plays Ah Guo, an illegal immigrant from Myanmar who crosses into Thailand to work. In order to immerse himself in the role, he flew over to Thailand and worked beside the factory workers to understand their lives to best portray his character.

Before his dedication to his work was made known, reports claiming that he looked more haggard due to continued drug use surfaced, with the actor responding, “There are too many voices out there and I can’t stop people from saying what they like. I learned how to struggle and bear with it silently.”

Upon finding out about his nomination, Kai shared, “Thank you for the recognition that the nomination has given me! Congratulations to the other nominees of The Road to Mandalay! I’ll continue working hard! I hope to see everyone in the future.”

In related news, it was revealed that movie A Choo, in which Kai also starred in, is slated to premiere in cinemas in the near future. The film was originally scheduled to debut in 2014 but was shelved indefinitely after Kai’s arrest. Reports have said that Chinese film censors have approved the film and did not cut out his scenes, with some suggesting that his numerous apology videos and attitude after the scandal are seen as a good deterrent to the public and his broadcast ban has therefore been lifted.

Photos: PBE Media