Wang Deshun

Born August 20, 1936 · Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

Wang began his career as a stage actor at the Changchun Theater when he was 24. However, as the entertainment industry continued to develop and theater gradually lost its popularity in Changchun, 49-year-old Wang and his family decided to move to Beijing to continue pursuing his love of theater. However, life in Beijing was tough. Unable to find traditional acting jobs, Wang began developing his own unique form of silent performance art. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he built a name for himself in Beijing and performed overseas in places such as Germany, France, and South Korea. With his performances often involving painting himself and standing still for hours at a time Wang began hitting the gym at age 50. "I worked out for four hours a day at the time and it took me three years to make my body look like a sculpture," Wang said in an interview with the Yangtze Evening Post. According to him, he continues to work out at least two hours every day.