What it’s like to be Jackie’s body double
The moment he walked in, he started asking a lot of questions about the props’ designs, their placement etc. My first impression was that Jackie Chan was a very inquisitive person and that he loved to learn, explore new things
BEIJING: Soldier-turned- actor Liu Peng, 36, is having the time of his life as the body double for superstar Jackie Chan. What does his work involve? Disclosed the affable Liu: “I have to stand in for the actor, while the cameramen decide on the lighting and their angle or while the set designers get everything ready. And may be my hand or leg may appear in some of the shots.
I might also be used in longdistance shots where the star’s face isn’t visible. It requires a lot of patience and attention to detail. I can see how Jackie Chan would walk, or move in a given situation with my eyes closed.”
Liu nearly never made it at all. Seven years ago, he travelled to Beijing to seek an audition and got robbed.
Recalled Liu: “I lost my luggage and my certificate from the army on the first day I arrived. It was stolen by someone I met in the train and I was left with three yuan in my pocket.
“I used one yuan to call my twin sister and asked her to put some money in my bank card. When I told one of the organisers of the audition about my situation, he gave me 20 yuan and told me to go to the Bayi Film Base in Huairou.”
That gave him the start he needed.
On what it’s like working with Jackie Chan, Liu said: “The first time I worked as Jackie Chan’s body double was when he was filming Skiptrace in Inner Mongolia, in September 2014.
“But the first time I saw him was in Hebei in 2010, on the sets for the period epic The Revolution of 1911. I was picked to play a cook in the film… it was a small role without any dialogue.
“The first moment I saw him, he was wearing a military uniform and a hat, but I could still see his eyes.
My breath quickened as if I’d just finished running 800 metres and my felt my legs become heavier.
“The moment he walked in, he started asking a lot of questions about the props’ designs, their placement etc.
“My first impression was that Jackie Chan was a very inquisitive person and that he loved to learn, explore new things.”
Liu is from a small village called Hanzhong, in Yangxian county, Shaanxi province. For him, working with an international star is a dream come true.
When he started showbiz, it was tough.
Recalled liu: “When I first came to Beijing in 2010, I worked out in
Liu Peng, body double for Jackie Chan
in Bayi Film Base for just food and lodging. At first I was in a room with over 40 other youths like me, who were all there because they were bitten by the acting bug. But after a few days, they would disappear.”
After a three-month stint at the state-backed film studio, Liu decided to quit and started hanging out at bars distributing resumes to potential recruiters.
Said Liu: “I slept in 24-hour KFCs or internet cafes and woke up every morning at 4.30am to catch the bus to the entrance of the Beijing Film Academy.
I would wait there for hours, waiting for recruiters to come and pick me for a minor role.”
Besides Skiptrace,, Liu has worked on Kung Fu Yoga, Railroad Tigers, and Bleeding Steel.
Recalling his first role, Liu said: “The first movie I was picked to play a minor role in was also a Jackie Chan film, The Revolution of 1911 in 2010, and I was thrilled when I was paid 1,200 yuan after shooting for seven days. Then several years later, I got picked to be his body double.”