This Friday, the eve of the Chinese New Year, the much-anticipated movie “Leap,” featuring the legendary story of the Chinese women’s national volleyball team spanning more than 40 years, will hit screens around the country. The movie is highly expected not only because of its uplifting true story but also because of the A-list cast and crew: director Peter Chan, actress Gong Li and actor Huang Bo.

For Peng Yuchang, a millennial actor who plays young Chen Zhonghe (former head coach of China women’s national volleyball team) in the movie, the opportunity to work with such big names in China’s film industry is undoubtedly a breakthrough in his career. While most teen celebrities in China are criticized for their dubious acting, Peng has been steadily progressing and nominated for major acting awards in China multiple times.

Peng’s road to stardom has not been smooth. When studying at Shanghai Theater Academy, he majored in puppetry, and his acting skills in TV and movies were acquired through continuously playing minor roles. He said that as an actor, he is neither as gifted nor as experienced as others, and in order to bring a convincing character to the audience, he reads the script and recites his lines on repeat, pondering every detail of every scene.

Peng made his debut in acting in 2015, playing a eunuch in hot time-traveling series “Go Princess Go.” Yet what truly brought him to a wider audience was movie “Our Shining Days” (2017). In this teen comedy, he plays a high-school drummer for which he was nominated the Asian New Talent Award at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival. Despite highly rated works such as last year’s popular family-themed TV series “All Is Well” and award-winning art-house movie “An Elephant Sitting Still” (2018), the 26-year-old actor is never satisfied with his achievements. Before his fans, he is a pleasant, simple young man who works hard to modestly hone his trade.

In 2018, Peng participated in Zhejiang Satellite TV’s “The Birth of Actors,” a talent show in which young actors and actresses compete with guidance from veteran stars, and once again amazed the audience with his acting chops. In one of his performances at the show, “The Last Emperor,” he played Emperor Puyi as both a young and middle-aged man. In the 10-minute performance, Peng skillfully presented the changes that turned the last emperor from an innocent boy to a sophisticated, cold-hearted man.

When asked what young actors should do, Peng responded: “Actors should take acting seriously and take life seriously. As an actor, I’m doing what I love, experiencing different lives and gaining something important. It’s wonderful to act.”(Lin Lin)