Eddie Peng

Edward Peng Yu-Yan, born on March 24, 1982, is a Taiwanese actor, singer, and model. He has established a prominent career across television and cinema, gaining wide recognition for his roles in feature films such as Hear Me, Unbeatable, Fleet of Time, Operation Mekong, Duckweed, Wu Kong, and Hidden Man. In 2024, he headlined the drama Black Dog, which premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and received the Un Certain Regard award.

Peng was born in Penghu, Taiwan, and relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the age of thirteen. He graduated from Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in 2000 and subsequently enrolled at the University of British Columbia to study economics. However, he left his university studies prior to graduating in order to pursue a career in performance.

His acting career began during a summer vacation in Taiwan when director Yang Daqing cast him in the television series Tomorrow, adapted from the Japanese manga series Asunaro Hakusho. Peng earned his first leading role in the 2003 drama Scent of Love. In 2005, he portrayed an autistic youth in the idol drama When Dolphin Met Cat, preparing for the role by spending a month learning to interact with dolphins. He expanded his recognition in Mainland China through roles in the popular dramas Chinese Paladin and The Young Warriors. Peng made his feature film debut in Exit No.6 (2006) and received a nomination for Best New Actor at the 44th Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards for his performance in My DNA Says I Love You (2007).

Following a management contract dispute in 2009, during which he starred in the box-office success Hear Me, Peng won his lawsuit in 2010 and released his debut five-track EP, It Has To Be You, through Avex Group. He achieved a major career breakthrough with the 2011 film Jump Ashin!, earning Best Actor nominations at the 48th Golden Horse Film Festival and 13th Taipei Film Festival after undergoing eight months of athletic training. He subsequently showcased his versatility across a range of genres, starring in films such as Love, Cold War, Tai Chi 0, A Wedding Invitation, and the MMA action film Unbeatable, which earned him Best Supporting Actor nominations at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards.

In 2014, Peng played Wong Fei-hung in Rise of the Legend, earning a Best Actor nomination at the 34th Hong Kong Film Awards, and starred in the successful productions Sound of the Desert and Fleet of Time. He went on to star as a competitive cyclist in To the Fore (2015), serving as the first Chinese Goodwill Ambassador for the Tour de France, and co-starred in The Last Women Standing. In 2016, Peng achieved another critical and box-office milestone portraying an undercover agent in Operation Mekong, alongside roles in Cold War 2, Call of Heroes, and The Great Wall.

Peng continued his career with lead roles in major film releases, including Duckweed, Our Time Will Come, and the box-office fantasy hit Wu Kong in 2017. He subsequently starred in Jiang Wen's wuxia film Hidden Man (2018), Dante Lam's action-thriller The Rescue (2020), and Ann Hui's period romance Love After Love. While filming the 2024 award-winning feature Black Dog, Peng developed a close bond with his canine co-star Xin and adopted the dog.