# Eddie Peng

Edward Peng Yu-Yan (Chinese: 彭于晏; pinyin: Péng Yúyàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Phêⁿ Û-àn; born 24 March 1982) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and model. He is best known for starring in the films Hear Me (2009), Unbeatable (2013), Fleet of Time (2014), Operation Mekong (2016), Duckweed (2017), Wu Kong (2017), Hidden Man (2018), and Black Dog (2024), which premiered in 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. In 2007, Peng was nominated as Best New Actor at the 44th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for his performance in My DNA Says I Love You.

### 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. 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 13th Taipei Film Festival, which marked the turning point of his career.
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. Unbeatable was the highest grossing local production at the Hong Kong box office, and received positive reviews. 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. The film was selected to represent Hong Kong in the best foreign-language film category at the 88th Academy Awards. 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 2018, Peng stars in the wuxia film Hidden Man, directed by Jiang Wen.
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 her.

## 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

| Year | English title | Original title | Role |
| 2005 | A Record | 记录 | Ah Xiang |
| 2006 | Open To Midnight | 午夜照相馆 | A Hai |
| 2007 | Muddy but Pure White | 泥巴色的纯白 | Tang Xuchuan |
| 2007 | Exit No. 6 | 六号出口 | Fan Dayin |
| 2007 | My DNA Says I Love You | 基因决定我爱你 | Xiao Xiong |
| 2008 | Sleeplessness All Through the Night | 公主在台北彻夜未眠 | Gong Ping |
| 2008 | All About Women | 女人不坏 | Mo Qiyan |
| 2008 | My So Called Love | 爱的发声练习 | A Liang |
| 2009 | Hear Me | 听说 | Tian Kuo |
| 2010 | Lover's Discourse | 恋人絮语 | Li Guangsheng |
| 2010 | Close to You | 近在咫尺的爱恋 | Zhao Dajie |
| 2011 | Love You You | 夏日樂悠悠 | You Lele |
| 2011 | Jump Ashin! | 翻滚吧!阿信 | Ashin |
| 2012 | LOVE | 爱 | Ah Kai |
| 2012 | Tai Chi 0 | 太極1：從零開始 | Fang Zijing |
| 2012 | Tai Chi Hero | 太極2：英雄崛起 | Fang Zijing |
| 2012 | Cold War | 寒戰 | Joe Lee |
| 2013 | A Wedding Invitation | 分手合約 | Li Xing |
| 2013 | Unbeatable | 激戰 | Lin Siqi |
| 2014 | Rise of the Legend | 黄飛鴻之英雄有夢 | Wong Fei-hung |
| 2014 | Fleet of Time | 匆匆那年 | Chen Xun |
| 2015 | 12 Golden Ducks | 12金鸭 | Cameo |
| 2015 | To the Fore | 破風 | Qiu Ming |
| 2015 | The Last Women Standing | 剩者為王 | Ma Sai |
| 2016 | Run for Love | 奔愛 | Feng Yujian |
| 2016 | The Bodyguard | 我的特工爺爺 | Cameo |
| 2016 | Cold War 2 | 寒戰2 | Joe Lee |
| 2016 | Call of Heroes | 危城歼霸 | Ma Feng |
| 2016 | Operation Mekong | 湄公河行動 | Fang Xinwu |
| 2016 | The Great Wall | 長城 | General Wu |
| 2017 | Duckweed | 乘風破浪 | Xu Zhengtai |
| 2017 | Wu Kong | 悟空傳 | Sun Wukong |
| 2017 | Our Time Will Come | 明月幾時有 | Liu Heizai |
| 2018 | Hidden Man | 邪不压正 | Li Tianran |
| 2019 | Midnight Diner | 深夜食堂 | Guest appearance |
| 2020 | The Rescue | 紧急救援 | Gao Qian |
| 2021 | Love After Love | 第一炉香 | Qiao Qiqia |
| 2021 | Are You Lonesome Tonight? | 热带往事 | Wang Xueming |
| 2023 | I Did It My Way | 潛行 | Eddie Fong |
| 2024 | Black Dog | 狗阵 | Lang |

### Television series

| Year | English title | Original title | Role |
| 2002 | Tomorrow | 愛情白皮書 | Xu Shouzhi |
| 2003 | Scent of Love | 恋香 | Jin Chengtian |
| 2005 | I Only Care About You | 我只在乎你 | Lin Qingyun |
| 2005 | Chinese Paladin | 仙劍奇侠傳 | Tang Yu |
| 2005 | When Dolphin Met Cat | 海豚愛上猫 | Xu Wei |
| 2006 | The Young Warriors | 少年楊家將 | Yang Yansi /Qilang |
| 2007 | Wayward Kenting | 我在墾丁*天氣晴 | Zhong Hanwen |
| 2007 | Liao Zhai | 聊齋誌異2 | Yang Yuedan |
| 2008 | Honey and Clover | 蜂蜜四叶草 | Ren Sentian |
| 2009 | The Concerto | 协奏曲 | Yuan Hao |
| 2010 | My Sassy Girl | 牵牛的夏天 | Jin Qianniu |
| 2014 | Sound of the Desert | 风中奇缘 | Wei Wuji |

## 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 |

### Singles

| 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 |
| 2008 | "Lucky Clover's Happiness" | 幸运草的祝福 | Honey and Clover OST | 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

| Year | Song title | Artist |
| 2005 | The Most Beautiful (最美) | Maggie Chiang |
| 2005 | Happy Together (春光乍泄) | Maggie Chiang |
| 2005 | One on One (一对一) | Fish Leong |
| 2006 | Searching for Unicorn (寻找独角兽) | Fiona Sit |
| 2006 | Lonely Road (寂寞公路) | Yu Yongbang |
| 2006 | Chase and Chase Again (一追再追) | Yu Yongbang |
| 2007 | Can't Stop Thinking (想個不停) | Claire Guo |
| 2008 | Lucky Clover's Happiness (幸运草的祝福) | Clover Band |
| 2008 | Coastal Highway Exit (沿海公路的出口) | S.H.E |
| 2008 | Because You Love Me (因為你愛我) | Joanna Wang |
| 2010 | Break Up Needs Practice (分手需要練習的) | A-Lin |