It is always a nice surprise when someone very talented and famous also turns out to be a very pleasant, down to earth person, and that is the case with Eddie Peng, the Taiwanese superstar whose career spans over two decades. His success didn’t happen over night though, and it took his collaboration with Ann Hui on two titles to prove the versatility of his acting performance: war drama set up in the 1940s “Our Time Will Come” (2017), and romance “Love After Love” (2020). Already before this international breakthrough, Peng had a huge teenage following due to the success of Yang Daqing’s TV series adaptation of the popular manga “Tomorrow” (2002). One could say that he was never shy of testing his acting capabilities by diving into diverse projects from romantic comedies and dramas, to adrenaline pumped action movies, which made him one of the most popular actors on the Asian continent.
Peng came to Cannes with the Un Certain Regard title “Black Dog” directed by Hu Guan, which – we are happy to report – has won the main prize. The film has also brought Palm Dog to its titular character who in real life is a she, and goes by the name Xin. The two actors became inseparable during their long shooting time in the Gobi desert, where the movie takes place. The story centers around a friendship between a troubled, introverted young man and a canine suspected to be rabid and looked for by the city’s inhabitants to stop the menace. Their burgeoning relationship is of a healing nature for both.
We met both of the “Black Dog” stars for an exclusive interview at the audio-visual terrace of the festival Palais in Cannes right after the film’s world premiere. Xin was relaxing on the soft pillows next to her best friend and co-actor, unimpressed by the admiring eyes that followed her every paw movement.
“Black Dog” is a calm, character-driven movie that is so much different from your previous action loaded, big budget hit “I Did It My Way” directed by Jason Kwan. What attracted you to this film
It was definitely the script and the fact that the film is shot by one of the most respected directors in China. I love his previous work. He shot a lot of movies, and they always have an animal playing a part: a horse, a cow, a bull. I was introduced to the movie and my character, in 2021, during the pandemic. The pandemic has changed my perspective of life. I just felt like I needed to do something special. I think that I haven’t done any acting for two years before this opportunity presented itself. So once I read the script, I felt a compulsion to do this film. I’m such a dog lover. You see, as a kid, I had asthma. So even if I always wanted to have a dog, and my sister had one, I was not allowed to. That was another excuse to be part of this movie – to have a relationship with a dog. I think that’s how I initially started this journey with Tiger.
Why do you call the director Tiger? There is a tiger in the movie, but that can’t be it, right?
Yes, there is a tiger, but that has nothing to do with it. His name simply translates like that in English. And since you mentioned the actual tiger in the movie, everything you see is real. There was a zoo where we shot “Black Dog”. There are animals everywhere. I watched the film for the first time yesterday with the audience in the full Debussy Theatre, and I loved it because I recognized so many things that were part of my life while being in that town.
Shooting in the Gobi Desert must have been an exciting experience
Right, it was. It’s a remote place surrounded by an impressive landscape. We spent many months there before we even we put a camera on the set. I had to go there earlier to immerse myself with the character, and to get to know the town because the people who live in the Northwest area of China have a certain way of talking, a very specific accent. So, I had to find the connection to that town, and to feel its pulse. I also had to train daily with the dog, and learn tricks with the motorcycle. That took a lot of time.
How was that? Are you actually any good with motorcycles?
Yeah, I think I did pretty well. All the riding up the hill, or up and down the stairs I did by myself, and do this, what’s it called? Sly shots.
Which is an upgrade of all the other things that you excell at, like martial arts.
Exactly. It is not just a character role, there are moments when it becomes physical as well. On the other hand, it is deeply psychological and wrapped in the veil of mystery because you don’t really know what happened in the past. In this particular movie,”Black Dog” I had to act opposite of a dog. It was quite interesting, because this movie is more about many problematic relationships, I had to change my perspective and way of thinking. I was constantly exploring this on the set; the people I was supposed to interact with, my on-screen father, and the animal I was connecting to. I played someone who was gone for a very long time due to his prison sentence which molded his character. Lang has to fight for his future, but also for his place in the present. He used to have a dream of becoming a big motorcycle racer, but his life turned upside down due to a fatal mistake. He can not live without a goal, so all those emotions are trapped inside of him because he is not able to speak about them. There’s no use of talking to anybody, since he can’t explain how he feels. It’s so similar to the world we live in today. Once you’ve done something wrong, people just see you differently.
I think that the only way we can move forward is by embracing our mistakes from the past. While I was working on “Black Dog”, I prepared a lot of things, going deep into the side stories, but then I just surrendered to my character on set. I had to forget what I learned because everything is so organically shot.
You have a very interesting career, and it didn’t happen overnight. It’s quite interesting how it got developed. So, how do you choose your roles? What is the thing that really that makes you go “yes”?
I like challenges and taking risks. Sometimes, I just follow my gut feeling.
Can you tell us something about working with An Hui?
Oh yes. That is one of the most beautiful collaborations that I ever had. I worked with her twice. It’s definitely one of the greatest, and most respected directors, and I loved working with her. She is just so genuine, so down to earth. And, she does everything by herself: on the set, she would rehearse every scene, she would make sure that everything works like a clock. And we are still in touch. I have just told her that I’m here because not everybody has this chance to be in Cannes. Thirteen years ago I was here with the movie “Jump Ashin!” by Lin Yu-Hsien, about a troubled young man who is pursuing his dream to become a gymnast. I remember telling myself back then then that maybe one day I’ll return to Cannes. I told myself that if I worked hard that might happen, so I started starring in different kind of movies.
Can you still recite poetry in Portuguese?
I still remember a couple of verses (recites), but I am afraid that I forgot the rest.
So, what is the feeling like walking that red carpet 13 years after?
I have to think about what you previously said. My career was developing step by step, and I’ve been doing this job for over twenty years. Each step along that way was a leap forward in manifesting that dream of being here. Here I am in the competition with a film that I am very proud of. That is quite something, I knew that if I wanted to go far, I had to work very hard. And in 2021, I did act in a movie directed by Shipei Wen called “Are You Lonesome Tonight”, and since we had the pandemic situation, even if it was in Cannes’ official selection, the film had only a special screening. That was an unlucky situation, but this year, it is finally happening again thanks to Tiger (which is how he calls the director of “Black Dog” Guan Hu), and I am here with my best friend (the film’s star, and the winner of Palme Dog – Xin). My dream has come true.
The red carpet is a part of it, but it does feel a but surreal walking on it as part of a film that is running in the competition.
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Xin doesn’t only look like a proper movie star, she seems to feel very comfortable here. And by the look of things you have obviously become good friends.
Yes we did. Right after the movie, I adopted her. You see, it’s a “she” and not a “he” as you are made to believe in the movie. Her name is Xin. We’ve been inseparable since the beginning of the shooting. She is the cutest. I couldn’t leave her back home, so I flew her over to Cannes with me.
How was she doing on the flight?
I think she was ok despite a very long journey. Initially, I was a bit worried for her because you have to put her in this huge cage in an oxygen cabinet, and then it’s a 10 hours flight. We couldn’t find a proper connecting transfer because she’s too big. So luckily, we planned everything ahead and we booked a train ticket. We had to drive to Lyon and commute on a train for five hours. I can show you. It’s a photo of me holding her on the train (picture perfect). Because the train is dog friendly, tt was fine. Now she’s cool, and she’s enjoying her spotlight.
I was taken by surprise how all the dogs in the movie were trained, and how they are totally actors.
People jokingly say that she’s Daniel Dog Lewis. The amazing thing is, that we shot almost everything without close-ups. So a lot of the movie’s scenes are shot in the black and white style, in a really artistic way, with many wide shots. So It’s really hard, and it’s definitely one of the hardest one for the dog and for me as well, because we have to rehearse so many times. The one scene where I peed on the wall, and she came out, she “chased” me and marked the same spot. I had to go around the corner and grab a big stick, and then come back to perform our introduction ritual. We shot this one for, I think, seven days straight. Every day on set, we had to go there earlier to do the rehearsal because it had to be shot in one take. That was a lot of work, and something that I’ve never experienced before. After the 45-50 attempts at each take, each scene, I just felt like I was not acting.
Well, it was worth it. Xin might end up winning the Palm Dog.
What? There is a competition for the best dog actor? In that case, I will stay and let you know if she wins.
I was looking at your career, and now I’m looking at you, and I just can’t believe that you are 42. What is the youth spring you are drinking from?
Exercise, I guess. I don’t know. I keep myself fit.
Is there anything you would like to say about your experience during the shooting of “Black Dog”?
I think I gained a lot working experience on it, and that I learned many lessons. For me as an actor with a long career in the entertainment business, it was something new doing so much preparation work before the shooting even started. I was used to the standard procedure of doing a bit of rehearsal, getting into a role and then going to the set to perform. But for this particular movie, you had to be “present” because the people who were there were real, and no actors in proper sense. They were themselves, just being there. And my partner was also not acting but reacting. So whenever I did something, like – gave her a treat or a sign, she would bark back at me, and I could not get back to my role. I had to learn how to be in the same moment with her. To be honest, at the beginning of the shooting I was kind of freaking out because I had to let loose and forget about how I did things before. I know that it sounds pretentious, but you just have to forget everything you prepared for. I was unsure if I did things right, so I would go to Tiger and ask him: Am I doing the right thing? And he would be like: “Yeah, just focus on the dog.”
“Black Dog” is unlike anything I’ve done before. Just the other day, I told my colleagues how I was doing something completely different as an actor and that this film has changed my idea of acting. For the audience, this is the story of forgiveness and hope because we have all made mistakes in the past, and we all have some kind of past that we stick to. But actually, the only thing we can change is ourselves because you can not solve a problem that you created with a different mindset in the past. Once my character Lang embraces the now and lets go of the past, he moves on. It is him and the dog. I think that when people see this movie, they can feel that sense of redemption, and a hope of salvation that comes with the dog. They are in a way mirroring each other.
It’s funny that the first screening of “Black Dog” and the one of Jia Zhangke’s Official competition title “Caught by The Tides” were screened back- to-back, since Jia appears in Tiger’s movie.
I love him as a filmmaker, and the reason he appears in the movie is that both directors are friends. I am not sure, but I know that he is not from the region as he comes from Fenyang, Shanxi. Jia Zhangke is one of the most respected directors in the world, right? But he pulled his role very well. He did a great job. He is not acting, he is just being himself, and the lines are just pouring out from him. It was an amazing experience watching him acting. But, as you know – this wasn’t his first time appearing in front of the camera. He did quite many movies before.
