His father was a veteran martial arts instructor in Taiwan, so young Shih-chieh had some training in martial arts, acrobatics and some weapons skills. But he found the wire work he was asked to perform in 1988's Spirit Vs Zombi to be quite scary, as it was much higher than anything he had done before. The wire lifted him above the overpass and the signboard of the New World Theater in Ximending, Taipei, about eight stories into the air.

Before attempting the stunt, the film's production manager Cheung Chung-leung, assured Shih-chieh of the safety measures taken and even said that he could be doubled, but Shih-chieh bravely volunteered to do it himself. It took five attempts and filming wasn't finished until past three o'clock in the morning. At which point, an exhausted little Shih-chieh said to his father “I won't fly next time. It's so scary!”

J.J. Hayden [03-Feb-2024]