Eddie Peng
彭于晏
Peng in 2024
Born	(1982-03-24)24 March 1982 (age 43) Penghu, Taiwan
Education	University of British Columbia
Occupations	Actor Singer Model
Years active	2002–present
Musical career
Genres	Mandopop
Musical artist
Chinese name
Chinese	彭于晏
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Péngyúyàn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Paang4 Jyu1 Aan3 Southern Min HokkienPOJ Phêⁿ Û-àn

Edward Peng Yu-Yan (Chinese:彭于晏;pinyin:Péng Yúyàn;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Phêⁿ Û-àn; born 24 March 1982) is aTaiwanese actor, singer and model. He is best known for starring in the filmsHear Me (2009),Unbeatable (2013),Fleet of Time (2014),Operation Mekong (2016),Duckweed (2017),Wu Kong (2017), andHidden Man (2018). In 2024, Peng starred inBlack Dog, which premiered at the77th Cannes Film Festival and won theUn Certain Regard prize.^[1]

Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan. He moved toVancouver, British Columbia, Canada at the age of thirteen. In 2000, he graduated fromSir Winston Churchill Secondary School.^[2] Subsequently, he was admitted to theUniversity of British Columbia and majored in economics, but later dropped out to begin his acting career.

Peng began his career when he was cast as inTomorrow by director Yang Daqing during a summer vacation in Taiwan. The drama is adapted from the Japanese manga seriesAsunaro Hakusho, written byFumi Saimon.^[3] Peng built a teenage fan following after the romantic comedy gained popularity.^[4] In 2003, he took on his first leading role in the Taiwanese dramaScent of Love, which tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who transcend life and death to find one another in their many reincarnations.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, he starred in the idol dramaWhen 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.^[5] He then starred in Chinesexianxia dramaChinese Paladin and wuxia dramaThe Young Warriors, which were extremely popular during their run and led to increased recognition for him in the Mainland.^[6]

Thereafter, Peng made his big screen debut in the movieExit No.6 (2006), directed by Yu-Hsien Lin.^{[citation needed]} The film put him on the radar of many film directors, includingTsui Hark who cast him in his 2008 romantic comedy,All About Women.^[4] In 2007, Peng was nominated as Best New Actor at the 44thGolden Horse Film Festival and Awards for his performance inMy DNA Says I Love You.^[7]

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 movieHear 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 SummerDeaflympics,^[8] and became the highest grossing locally produced movie at Taiwan's box office.^[9]

After winning the lawsuit in 2010, he released his debut EP titledIt Has To Be You, which featured 5 songs under the management ofAvex Group.^[10]

The same year, he starred as the male lead in the movieClose to You. To portray his role as a boxer, Peng trained for three months prior to filming.^[11] He was nominated in the Best Actor category at the 2ndMacau International Movie Festival for his performance.^[12]

Peng achieved breakthrough with his performance in the 2011 teen filmJump Ashin!, directed by Yu-Hsien Lin.^[4] He reportedly trained eight months to portray an athlete. The film was a critical and commercial success. Peng earned nominations as Best Actor at the 48th Golden Horse Film Festival and 13thTaipei Film Festival, which marked the turning point of his career.^[13][14]

Thereafter, he starred in romance filmsLove You You andLove;^[15][16] police thrillerCold War;^[17] kungfu comedyTai Chi 0 andTai Chi Hero;^[18][19] showcasing his versatility.^[20]

In 2013, Peng starred in action filmUnbeatable, playing amixed martial arts fighter.^[21] Peng practised boxing for four hours a day for his character.^[4]Unbeatable was the highest grossing local production at the Hong Kong box office, and received positive reviews.^[22] The film earned Peng nominations as Best Supporting Actor at the 33rdHong Kong Film Award and 50thGolden Horse Film Festival and Awards.^[23][24] The same year, Peng starred in romantic comedyA Wedding Invitation alongsideBai Baihe. The film earned nearly 200 million yuan ($32 million) in China, making it the highest-grossing Chinese-South Korean production.^[25]

In 2014, Peng was cast asWong Fei-hung inRise of the Legend, the latest film about the iconicKung-Fumaster. He reportedly practiced 10 hours of martial arts every day to prepare for the role.^[26] Peng was nominated in the Best Actor category at the 34thHong Kong Film Award.^[27] The same year, he starred in historical dramaSound of the Desert andcoming-of-age filmFleet of Time, which were both commercial successes.^[28][29] Peng's achievements in both the film and television industry brought his career to a new height.^[30]

In 2015, Peng played a professional cyclist in sports filmTo the Fore.^[31] He reportedly received training and earned qualifications for competitive racing during filming.^[4] The film was selected to represent Hong Kong in the best foreign-language film category at the 88thAcademy Awards.^[32] Peng was also appointed the first Chinese Goodwill Ambassador of the 2015Tour de France.^[33] The same year, Peng starred alongsideShu Qi in romance filmThe Last Women Standing.^[34]

Peng achieved another breakthrough in 2016 with the filmOperation Mekong, where he portrayed a hardcore undercover agent along with veteran actorZhang Hanyu.^[35] The film received critical acclaim, and is highest grossing Chinese cop film to date.^[36] He also starred in romance filmRun for Love alongsideZhang Ziyi,^[37] police thrillerCold War 2 as an antagonist,^[38] war epicCall of Heroes,^[39] andZhang Yimou's historical epicThe Great Wall.^[40]

In 2017, Peng co-starred inHan Han's filmDuckweed alongsideDeng Chao andZanilia Zhao.^[41] The sleeper hit gained commercial and critical success.^[42][43] He then starred in war filmOur Time Will Come directed byAnn Hui, playing a complicated anti-hero.^[44][45] Peng then headlined his first film, fantasy epicWu Kong where he played thetitle character.^[46] The film was a box office success and grossed US$100 million at the box office.^[4]

In 2018, Peng stars in the wuxia filmHidden Man, directed byJiang Wen.^[47]

In 2020, Peng starred inThe Rescue, a thriller film directed byDante Lam which focuses on an emergency rescue operative.^[48] He is also set to star in period romance filmLove After Love, directed byAnn Hui.^[49]

Eddie Peng andJolin 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 ofJump Ashin!, after which he moved his career focus from Taiwan to mainland China.^[50][51]

In 2015, Peng dated Taiwanese actress Lyla Lin.^[52]

While filmingBlack Dog, Peng developed such a strong bond with his dog co-star Xin that he adopted her.^[53][54]

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 forLi 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 withifeng.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.”^[55][56]

After this incident, Peng significantly slowed down his career. A plot point in the trailer for 2023 filmThe Movie Emperor was inspired by this event, although the scene was cut from the theater version.^[57]

• Eddie Peng atIMDb

• 1982 births
• Living people
• 21st-century Canadian male actors
• 21st-century Taiwanese male actors
• Canadian people of Chinese descent
• Canadian male actors of Taiwanese descent
• Han Taiwanese
• People from Penghu County
• Naturalized citizens of Canada
• People from Meixian District
• Taiwanese emigrants to Canada
• Taiwanese people of Hakka descent
• Taiwanese male film actors
• Taiwanese male television actors
• University of British Columbia alumni
• Taiwanese idols
• Taiwanese male singers
• 21st-century Taiwanese singers
• 21st-century Canadian male singers
• 21st-century Canadian singers

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