Why Eddie Peng is one of Asia’s most prolific performers
The Taiwanese actor, who plays the Monkey King in ‘Wu Kong’, likes to do his characters justice
Eddie Peng Yu-yan doesn’t believe in obstacles. During our interview in August – Peng was in town to promote his latest fantasy drama, Wu Kong, in Hong Kong – whenever the Taiwanese actor was asked about his motivation to take on new characters and challenges, he would often respond with “why not”.
A post shared by Style_SCMP (@style_scmp) on Aug 7, 2017 at 7:48am PDT
The media-savvy actor’s unmistakable perseverance, curiosity and can-do spirit have elevated him from a teen idol to the much-respected professional he is today. “I appreciate every opportunity that comes my way,” Peng says. “I hate to fail the director, people who I work with and, of course, my audience.”
With some 27 million Weibo fans and another 3.3 million followers on Instagram, the 35-year-old singer-turned-actor is one of Asia’s most loved and prolific performers of his generation.
Peng has starred in a series of high-budget and high-profile blockbusters over the past years. His latest film, Wu Kong , grossed almost 700 million yuan (HK$834 million) at the box office in mainland China. Take a look at his recent portfolio – it’s as if he has been intentionally expanding his genres and the filmmakers he works with.
Last year, he appeared with Hollywood heavyweight Matt Damon in Zhang Yimou’s fantasy drama, The Great Wall . He has also starred in veteran director Dante Lam’s action-packed thriller, Operation Mekong. More recently, he played a complicated anti-hero in auteur Ann Hui’s melodrama, Our Time Will Come. “It has been a great learning curve working with the director [Hui],” Peng says. “The character fights violence with more violence, but there’s more to this character than the superficial.”