Yen Cheng-kuo
Taiwanese actor and director (1974–2025)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yen Cheng-kuo (Chinese: 顏正國; October 10, 1974 – October 7, 2025) was a Taiwanese actor, director and calligraphy teacher.
Yen Cheng-kuo | |
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| Born | October 10, 1974 |
| Died | October 7, 2025 (aged 50) |
Early life and career
Yen was born October 10, 1974 in Xizhi, Taipei County. His father was a soldier in the Republic of China Army.[1][2] He entered the film industry at the age of six, debuting in My Native Land (1980), directed by Li Hsing.[3][4]
Throughout his career, he acted in a number of feature films directed or executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien, including Growing Up (1983), A Summer at Grandpa's (1984), and Dust of Angels (1992).[5][6] He was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Child Star in 1983, for his role in The Sandwich Man.[7][8]
Personal life and death
In the late 1980s, Yen became addicted to drugs and was arrested in 1991 for using amphetamines, causing public uproar. He was also arrested for possessing a firearm.[9]
On July 1, 2001, Yen and a group of other people kidnapped Shi Jindu, a drug dealer in Dacun, Changhua County, and extorted NT$200 and 2 kilograms of amphetamine.[10] He was released from Taichung Prison in March 2012 after serving 11 years.[11]
In later life, he worked as a calligraphy teacher and published a book, Giving Up Fists and Painting a New Life through Calligraphy — Kung Fu Kid Yen Cheng-kuo's Youth and Awakening.[12][13]
Yen died at the age of 50 of lung cancer on October 7, 2025, while hospitalized at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital.[5][14]