Eddie Peng

Edward Peng Yu-Yan (; born 24 March 1982) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. He is best known for starring in the films Hear Me, Unbeatable (2013), Fleet of Time (2014), Operation Mekong (2016), Duckweed (2017), Wu Kong (2017), and Hidden Man (2018). In 2024, Peng starred in Black Dog, which premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and won the Un Certain Regard prize.

Early life and education Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan. He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of thirteen. In 2000, he graduated from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School. Subsequently, he was admitted to the University of British Columbia and majored in economics, but later dropped out to begin his acting career.

Career

2002–2008: Beginnings Peng began his career when he was cast as in Tomorrow by director Yang Daqing during a summer vacation in Taiwan. The drama is adapted from the Japanese manga series Asunaro Hakusho, written by Fumi Saimon. Peng built a teenage fan following after the romantic comedy gained popularity. In 2003, he took on his first leading role in the Taiwanese drama Scent of Love, which tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who transcend life and death to find one another in their many reincarnations.

In 2005, he starred in the idol drama When Dolphin Met Cat, portraying an autistic youth. To prepare himself for the filming, Peng took one month to learn how to interact with dolphins from a trained instructor. He then starred in Chinese xianxia drama Chinese Paladin and wuxia drama The Young Warriors, which were extremely popular during their run and led to increased recognition for him in the Mainland.

Thereafter, Peng made his big screen debut in the movie Exit No.6 (2006), directed by Yu-Hsien Lin. The film put him on the radar of many film directors, including Tsui Hark who cast him in his 2008 romantic comedy, All About Women.

2009–2010: Contractual disputes In 2009, Peng was involved in a contract dispute lawsuit against his former manager, reaching the nadir of his career. However, during this period, Peng starred in the movie Hear Me, directed by Fen-Fen Cheng, about a delivery boy who falls for a deaf girl and communicates with her using sign language.The film was released a week prior to the opening of the 21st Summer Deaflympics, and became the highest grossing locally produced movie at Taiwan's box office.

After winning the lawsuit in 2010, he released his debut EP titled It Has To Be You, which featured 5 songs under the management of Avex Group.

The same year, he starred as the male lead in the movie Close to You. To portray his role as a boxer, Peng trained for three months prior to filming. He was nominated in the Best Actor category at the 2nd Macau International Movie Festival for his performance.

2011–2013: Rising popularity Peng achieved breakthrough with his performance in the 2011 teen film Jump Ashin!, directed by Yu-Hsien Lin.

Thereafter, he starred in romance films Love You You and Love; police thriller Cold War; kungfu comedy Tai Chi 0 and Tai Chi Hero; showcasing his versatility.

In 2013, Peng starred in action film Unbeatable, playing a mixed martial arts fighter. Peng practised boxing for four hours a day for his character. The film earned Peng nominations as Best Supporting Actor at the 33rd Hong Kong Film Award and 50th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards. The same year, Peng starred in romantic comedy A Wedding Invitation alongside Bai Baihe. The film earned nearly 200 million yuan ($32 million) in China, making it the highest-grossing Chinese-South Korean production.

2014–present: Box office success In 2014, Peng was cast as Wong Fei-hung in Rise of the Legend, the latest film about the iconic Kung-Fu master. He reportedly practiced 10 hours of martial arts every day to prepare for the role. Peng was nominated in the Best Actor category at the 34th Hong Kong Film Award. The same year, he starred in historical drama Sound of the Desert and coming-of-age film Fleet of Time, which were both commercial successes. Peng's achievements in both the film and television industry brought his career to a new height.

In 2015, Peng played a professional cyclist in sports film To the Fore. He reportedly received training and earned qualifications for competitive racing during filming. Peng was also appointed the first Chinese Goodwill Ambassador of the 2015 Tour de France. The same year, Peng starred alongside Shu Qi in romance film The Last Women Standing.

Peng achieved another breakthrough in 2016 with the film Operation Mekong, where he portrayed a hardcore undercover agent along with veteran actor Zhang Hanyu. The film received critical acclaim, and is highest grossing Chinese cop film to date. He also starred in romance film Run for Love alongside Zhang Ziyi, police thriller Cold War 2 as an antagonist, war epic Call of Heroes, and Zhang Yimou's historical epic The Great Wall.

In 2017, Peng co-starred in Han Han's film Duckweed alongside Deng Chao and Zanilia Zhao. The sleeper hit gained commercial and critical success. He then starred in war film Our Time Will Come directed by Ann Hui, playing a complicated anti-hero. Peng then headlined his first film, fantasy epic Wu Kong where he played the title character. The film was a box office success and grossed US$100 million at the box office.

In 2020, Peng starred in The Rescue, a thriller film directed by Dante Lam which focuses on an emergency rescue operative. He is also set to star in period romance film Love After Love, directed by Ann Hui.

Personal life Eddie Peng and Jolin Tsai reportedly began dating in mid-2006, but their relationship remained private until March 2007, when Tsai was spotted visiting Peng's home late at night to "play video games." Due to strong opposition from Peng's agency, the couple eventually parted ways in 2009. Displeased with the interference, Peng attempted to terminate his contract with his agency early, which led to him being sidelined and his career stalling until the success of Jump Ashin!, after which he moved his career focus from Taiwan to mainland China.

In 2015, Peng dated Taiwanese actress Lyla Lin.

While filming Black Dog, Peng developed such a strong bond with his dog co-star Xin that he adopted him.

Controversy On June 17, 2018, at the Weibo Movie Night, Eddie Peng, who was supposed to be seated in the second row, allegedly took a first-row seat intended for Li Bingbing, angering the actress to the point that she refused to enter the ceremony until she was called on stage to receive her award. On July 17, during an interview with ifeng.com, Peng was asked if the “seat-swapping” controversy had affected him, to which he responded, “I have done nothing to be ashamed of.” Later that day, Peng's office issued a statement clarifying that the seat changes were made without his knowledge and criticized ifeng.com for misrepresenting the interview. The website apologized and released the unedited transcript, showing that the original question referred to "misunderstandings online" without directly mentioning the “seat-swapping.”

After this incident, Peng significantly slowed down his career. A plot point in the trailer for 2023 film The Movie Emperor was inspired by this event, although the scene was cut from the theater version.

Filmography

Film

Television series

Discography

Extended plays Year English title Original title Released date Label 2010 It Has to Be You 非愛不可 23 April 2010 Avex Taiwan

Soundtrack appearances Year English title Original title Album Notes/ 2003 "Cannot Reject" 不能拒绝 Scent of Love OST 2005 "The Sea loves Blue Sky" 大海爱蓝天 When Dolphin Met Cat OST 2008 "Give Me Love" Honey and Clover OST with Joe Cheng & Ito Chiaki"Lucky Clover's Happiness" 幸运草的祝福 with Clover Band 2013 "Didn't We Agree To It" 我们不是说好了吗 A Wedding Invitation OST with Bai Baihe 2019 "Crazy Waves" 狂浪 The Rescue OST

Music video appearances Year Song title Artist Notes 2005 "The Most Beautiful" Maggie Chiang "Happy Together" "One on One" Fish Leong 2006 "Searching for Unicorn" Fiona Sit "Lonely Road" Yu Yongbang "Chase and Chase Again" 2007 "Can't Stop Thinking" Claire Guo 2008 "Lucky Clover's Happiness" Clover Band "Coastal Highway Exit" S.H.E "Because You Love Me" Joanna Wang 2010 "Break Up Needs Practice" A-Lin