Zhenwei Wang (Chinese Simplified: 王振威, Chinese Traditional: 王振威, Pinyin: Wáng Zhènwěi is a Chinese actor and martial artist. He is best known for his role as Cheng (Lu Weicheng) in the 2010 film The Karate Kid, which is a remake of the original 1984 film.

Biography

Early life
Zhenwei Wang was born on October 20, 1995. His family was originally from Handan, Qiuxian, Hebei, China, but his father brought him to Beijing in order for him to receive a better education. At the age of four and a half, his father sent him to the Beijing Shenshahai/Beijing Shichahai Amateur Sports School, as he was "weak and sickly," according to his father. Zhenwei was highly focused during practice sessions. At his young age, he did not complain of being tired even after hours of practice. After years of hard work and effort, Zhenwei gained high praise from the wushu industry with his determination and firm martial arts foundation. Zhenwei received many awards in national competitions at a young age. He was awarded two gold medals in the Beijing Youth Wushu Competition. After training in the Beijing Shenshahai/Beijing Shichahai Amateur Sports School for three and a half years, his father sent him to the Haidian Gymnasium and he began learning the national wushu routines. Two years later, when Zhenwei was 10, he came in first out of 57 excellent competitors when the national wushu team was searching for new members, and he successfully entered the national wushu B-Mannschaft.


Career
In July 2009, The Karate Kid began looking for cast members. The filming dictated that a teenage martial artist be selected. The vice-director of the filming team and Jackie Chan's assistant started the auditions within China's martial arts schools. At the Beijing Film Academy, approximately ten thousand selected contestants participated in the audition. The selection was extremely strict: English fluency, wushu skills, physical appearance, acting facial expressions, and even control over eye expressions were tested. After 3 months of auditions, Zhenwei overcame all difficulties and successfully became the actor who would portray Cheng in The Karate Kid. During filming, Zhenwei suffered a head injury requiring four stitches. He received it while chasing Jaden Smith (playing Dre Parker) after being splashed by the dirty water; Zhenwei hit his head on an oil pail.

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