Guo Tao's first cinema appearance came in 1994. He played a minor role in Zhang Yimou's movie "Such is Life". Then he showed up next in "Love Lost Forever." That was Feng Xiaogang's first film effort. Feng went on to become one of China's most successful filmmakers. For reasons no one can explain, Guo Tao failed to break into the A list among Chinese actors at the time.