Malaysian martial artist turned action actor Jet Fei is more than ready to get back to work after the government allows the gradual reopening of filming activities under strict standard operating procedures (SOP).
All film and TV productions have been halted due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) and the full lockdown (FMCO) nationwide from 1 June to curb the spread of Covid-19 which has impacted the creative industry.
Fei, just like all other actors and film workers, has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. With shooting activities disallowed, there was no income earned for the 32-year-old action actor.
“I hope I could resume work to earn an income again,” said Fei, who is looking forward to resume shooting.
Fei has started living on a budget. Adhering to SOP, he is taking on part-time work as a salesperson selling Musang King and D24 durians via live video.
On top of it to survive, he is also teaching virtual fitness classes via Zoom.
He is also helping out on his parents’ farm business in French beans and cili api whenever he has the time.
Fei is a highly skilled, trained and competitive martial arts champion. Regarding his martial arts abilities, Fei is a professional MMA fighter. He already became Malaysia Wushu Sanda champion and Malaysia MMA champion.
MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts, a full-contact combat sport combining mixed fighting styles and skills such as boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu.
Fei learned martial arts at a young age and eventually became a professional MMA fighter at age 22.
Before the lockdown, Fei was busy shooting for a couple of film projects which started filming last year.
The first was a Malaysian Chinese drama, Shadows of Love (叠影迷情) where he not only acted but also was the fight choreographer for the film directed by actor/director Chan Wai Cheong and produced by Red Storm Pictures Production.
The second film was a China drama series called “The Ferryman: Legends of Nanyang” (灵魂摆渡之南洋传说) directed by a Chinese film director, in which he was one of the featured actors. Filming which started last year at Iskandar Malaysia Studio in Johor has completed and the series is expected to be premiered this September on the iQiyi TV Channel (爱奇艺).
Fei was also the computer gaming player motion actor in a gaming production by Larian Studios called “Baldur’s Gate 3” in early March this year before the full lockdown.
“I hope Malaysian citizens and artists can and do work together to get through the pandemic, adhere to the SOP, get vaccinated early against Covid-19, and let the economy and lifestyle get back to normal.
“Hopefully, the government and Finas will allow artists and production staff who have completed two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to get back to work, so we can earn our income to survive,” Fei said.
