Q

Cheng Pei Pei's second act: from celebrated martial artist to Meditation Park

Cheng Pei Pei talks about her starring role in Meditation Park, a film about a woman in her 60s who's figuring out her own second act.
Sandra Oh and Cheng Pei Pei in Meditation Park. (Mongrel Media)

Actor Cheng Pei Pei loves the idea of a "second act." She's had an incredible career in China, where she found success as both a martial artist and actor. In the 1960s, her films flooded Chinese cinema, making her one of the most celebrated swordswomen of her time. For many years after that, she took a break from her acting and didn't return to the screen until the critically-acclaimed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000.

Now, at the age of 71, she's looking for a new challenge — and she found it in the Canadian film, Meditation Park. She talks to Tom Power about her starring role in a movie about a woman in her 60s who is figuring out her own second act — and why it was important to her to take it on.

Produced by Elaine Chau