C ULTURE
work with different emotions.
“When we ate together, he would talk to
me about the script and help me study it so
I could have a solid foundation in acting,”
Peng said.
His journey to stardom did not go
smoothly. As an actor, Peng remained name-
less for almost a decade. From 2001 to 2011,
he acted in more than 20 films and TV dra-
mas but none of them became a hit. At 26 he
was broke, in debt and short of options.
The turning point started in the 2011
coming-of-age sports film Jump Ashin! di-
rected by Lin Yu-Hsien. The film tells the
story of young gymnast Ashin, who is forced
to give up his beloved sport under family
pressures and goes astray in a violent street
world. But after hitting rock bottom, Ashin
returns to gymnastics and finally becomes a
champion.
Peng dedicated all his time and energy to
the role. He spent 12 hours a day for eight
consecutive months training in the gym to
perfect jumps and flips, and acquired all the
required movements for the sport. Peng im-
pressed audiences with his athletic body, pre-
cise performance of gymnastic moves, and
subtle acting of a young sportsman’s inner
conflicts. Peng was later nominated for The
Best Male Lead in the 48th Taiwan Golden
Horse Awards.
Peng solidified himself as a household
name after his starring in film Unbeatable, in
which he played a young man who wishes
to learn Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The
acclaimed film was the highest grossing lo-
cal production in Hong Kong that year. HisEddie Peng acts as Monkey King Sun Wukong in his latest film Wukong (2017)
Photo by vgc