Guo Degang (Chinese: 郭德纲; pinyin: Guō Dégāng) is a Chinese crosstalk (xiangsheng) comedian and actor.^[1] Guo's film appearances include The 601st Phone Call, Just Another Pandora's Box, and Mystery.^[2][3] Guo has also directed the films Our Happiness and The Faces of My Gene.^[4][5]

Guo Degang was born on January 18, 1973, in Tianjin, China. Guo began his acting studies by studying Pingshu from Gao Qinghai, crosstalk from Chang Baofeng and Hou Yaowen, and opera, including Peking opera, Ping opera, and Hebei Clapper opera.^{[citation needed]} In 1996 Guo founded the crosstalk group "De Yun She" in Beijing,^[6] which subsequently collaborated with Zhang Wenshun and Yu Qian in 2000 and Yu Qian,^[7] Zhang Yongyong, Wang Shiyong, and Yang Jinming in 2002.^{[citation needed]} In 2005 Guo and other crosstalk actors formed the Deyun Crosstalk Association to raise public awareness of crosstalk.^[8] Guo subsequently acted in special crosstalk shows at the PLA Theater and the Tianjin People's Stadium in 2006 and at the Great Hall of the People in 2008.^[9][10][11] In 2010 Guo hosted the There is a Play Tonight talk show.^[12]

In 2011, Guo created a xiangsheng titled Lenin in 1918.^[13]: 199 The xiangsheng depicts the plight of traditional opera performers who could no longer perform their repertoire during the Cultural Revolution and resort to mixing highlights from the Soviet films Lenin in October and Lenin in 1918 into an aria.^[13]: 199

In 2012 he starred in the movie The Unfortunate Car, for which he won The Most Outstanding Asian Artists and 7th Tripod awards for Best Artistic Actor in China.^[14][15] The next year Guo was featured in the CCTV New Year's Gala and hosted the talk show Good Show on Jiangsu Satellite TV.^[16][17] In 2014 Guo starred in Just Another Margin and Mystery and served as an instructor for the Comedy Show television show.^[18][19] The next year he directed and starred in the film Our Happiness and hosted the talk show Gang’s Coming.^[4][20] In 2016 Guo participated in the opening ceremony of “The 20th Anniversary of Deyun Crosstalk Association” and began working as a comedian observer for Top Funny Comedian on Dragon TV.^[21][22][23] In 2017 Guo directed The Faces of My Gene, which premiered in China on February 16, 2018, grossing $100 million at the box office.^[5]

Guo has a son, Guo Qilin (郭麒麟), with his first wife, Hu Zhonghui (胡中惠), in 1996.^[24][25] After receiving a divorce, Guo remarried to his current wife Wang Hui (王惠), with whom he had a second son on January 5, 2015.^[26]