Hou Minghao (Chinese: 侯明昊, born 3 August 1997 in Beijing, China), also known as Neo Hou, is a Chinese actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in hit television dramas like When We Were Young, Fangs of Fortune, Dashing Youth and Love in the Clouds.
Pre-debut
In 2012, Hou joined SM Entertainment as a trainee, however he returned to China after a year and a half of training.
2014–2017: Debut and solo career
In July 2014, Hou participated in the draft competition "Boss Shang's Trainee" and eventually became a trainee of Shang Wenjie's Studio. The studio later established as BG Talent's agency. On 12 December of the same year, Fresh Teenager Geek officially debuted and released their first album UP 4 U.
In November 2015, he starred in the black humorous absurd comedy film Frightened Bird, in which he played as Su Niu.
On 10 January 2016, Hou's studio announced that he had completed his credits during his debut as a trainee and officially graduated and began to develop his acting career as an independent person. On 22 January, he joined the variety show Day Day Up of Hunan TV as "Little Brother", which gained attention and popularity in the program. On 11 July, he released his first single "Super Nanny Dad" for variety show Let Go of My Baby. On 24 September, the web drama series Rakshasa Street started filming in Hengdian. On 4 November, the movie Funny Soccer was released in China, he played Xiao Shuai, an inspirational and funny boy with a habit of cleanliness in the film. On 16 November, the shooting for Cambrian Period began, he was announced as their main lead. On 29 November, he starred in the romantic comedy web movie Angel Institute, playing a punk rock teenager in the film.
On 15 February 2017 Hou was announced as main lead for Inference Notes. On 31 March, he played a high-IQ genius boy, Tang Chuan in the suspense movie The Devotion of Suspect X, which has attracted attention for its performance and interpretation. On 9 May, the web series Cambrian Period was broadcast, where he played a ruthless killer. The series achieved 1.3 billion views at the end of its run. On 2 August, the web drama Rakshasa Street was broadcast, where he acted in ancient costumes for the first time, and played Bai Jingxuan. In September, he starred in television series The Monkey King: Land of Beauty. On 3 November, the suspense web series Inference Notes was broadcast where he played the role of Mi Kaka. On 28 December, he was announced as the main lead for the drama series When We Were Young.
2018–2022: Career progression
On 14 March 2018, he released his first all-English single "You Mean Everything To Me", which he personally planned and prepared for a year, a gift to fans on White Valentine's Day. On 17 April, he was announced as main lead for The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note. On 22 November, the youth campus drama When We Were Young was broadcast, in which he played the role of Hua Biao, a passionate and righteous science genius. The series ended with 1.8 billion views.
On 17 January 2019, Hou was announced as the main lead for drama series Psych-Hunter. On April, he starred in series A Chinese Ghost Story with Zheng Shuang, however due to her controversy, the series was banned from broadcast with unknown release date. On 6 June, the adventure drama The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note was broadcast on Tencent Video. He played Wu Xie. The total number of plays of the drama successfully exceeded 4.15 billion views on Tencent Video, becoming the best in the summer program at that time. On 28 June, the film Over Again was released, in which he played the role of the passionate and "daring" teenager Gao Silin.
On 12 June 2020, the drama series A Girl Like Me announced their cast lineup and Hou was one of their lead. On 28 June, he starred in the TV series Reading Class, he played Lu Xingchen. However, this series have uncertain release date due to Song Zu'er's tax evasion scandal. On 23 November, the suspense detective drama Psych-Hunter was broadcast, in which he played the role of Jiang Shuo, a house buyer with amnesia.
On 18 January 2021, TV series A Girl Like Me was broadcast on Tencent Video, in which he played the role of Rong Xian. By the end, the series has exceeded 1.6 billion views. On 4 May, the series Faith Makes Great was broadcast. On 14 June, he was announced as one of the lineup for TV Series Hu Tong. On 14 August, he was announced as main lead for drama series Back From the Brink. On 14 September, the drama Our Times starring him was broadcast on Tencent Video. The series has achieved 1.9 billion views. On 21 October, the TV series People's Property began broadcasting. The series earned 1.6 billion views. On 27 December, Hesong Entertainment officially announced Hou has joined their agency.
On 6 July 2022, Hou was announced as one of the main lead for Young Babylon. On 25 September, Hu Tong was broadcast on various platforms Mango TV, Tencent Video, and CCTV-8. The series has achieved 1.27 billion views.
2023–present
On 5 May 2023, Hou was announced as one of the lineup for drama series I Am Nobody. On 9 May, the television series Back from the Brink was broadcast, in which he played Tian Yao. The drama is adapted from the novel of the same name by Jiulu Feixiang and was exclusively broadcast on Youku. The number of pre-broadcast reservations for the drama reached 3.39 million, and the popularity of playback on Youku after the broadcast exceeded 10,000, occupying the first place in various lists on Youku for many times. On 13 May, he started filming for drama series Dashing Youth. On 28 July, the movie Hidden Strike was launched on Netflix. On 4 August, the urban fantasy drama I Am Nobody was broadcast, in which he played Wang Ye, a Taoist priest. The drama received positive reviews from the critics and audience. The series exceeded 10,000 index heat and achieved 1 billion views on Youku. On 1 October, the series Fangs of Fortune started filming with Hou as the main lead. On 5 December, he participated in the TV series Love in Pavilion as cameo and played the role of Demon King Baimu Yaojun.
On 19 February 2024, he participated in filming of I Am Nobody: The Showdown Between Yin & Yang. On 24 February, Hou was announced as the main lead in the TV series The Unclouded Soul, in which he played the role of Hong Ye, the king of demons, who was respected by all demons and feared by the human race. On 29 April, the TV series Young Babylon was broadcast on Tencent Video and Mango TV. The play is adapted from the novel of the same name. It tells the story of a group of young people pursuing love, friendship, dreams and growth in a small coastal town in the southeast of the 1990s. The series earned 503 million views on Tencent Video and Mango TV. On 19 July, the TV series Dashing Youth was broadcast on Youku. It tells the story of Baili Dongjun, who loves to make wine, embarked on the world because of the agreement with his childhood friend Ye Dingzhi. The series exceeded 10,000 index heat and achieved 1.98 billion views on Youku. On 31 August, he was announced as the male lead for the xianxia TV series Love in the Clouds, playing Ji Bozai. The series is adapted from the novel of the same name by Bailu Chengshuang. It tells the story of Ji Bozai, a polar star abys fighter from a criminal prisoner, who defeated Mingyi, the cold god of war, who had won for seven consecutive years, at the annual "Qingyun Conference" of Hexu Six Realms. On 4 September, the variety show Divas Hit the Road Season 6 was aired on Mango TV, by the end of its run, the show has attracted 4.3 billion views. On 26 October, the drama series Fangs of Fortune was broadcast on iQIYI where he played the role of Zhao Yuanzhou. The series exceeded 8,734 index heat and topped many rankings charts in China, and his role as Zhao Yuanzhou's popularity is the first reached 300,000 on Douyin Character List. The series has achieved 1.35 billion views on iQIYI.
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