Leo Wu Goes Nearly Naked for War Epic “Dongji Island”

Rising actor Leo Wu (吳磊) stars in the upcoming Chinese film Dongji Island <東極島> which recounts the true story of the 1942 Lisbon Maru incident told from a Chinese perspective.

Leo’s Physically Demanding Role & Tanned Look

Keen to establish himself as a serious actor in recent years, Leo, in the war epic, portrays the resilience and moral courage of ordinary Chinese citizens. Impressing the production team with his professionalism alongside Zhu Yilong (朱一龍), who also stars in the film, they underwent intense training and filming in harsh sea conditions to bring authenticity to the story. Both actors successfully completed a physically demanding underwater sequence—holding their breath for 4 minutes and 30 seconds and diving to a depth of 9 meters—all to shoot in real seawater with visibility of less than 0.5 meters, to heighten the sense of suffocation onscreen.

Fans Get High Over Leo’s Look

The production team also released a costume fitting video of Wu, showing him already tanned for the role and wearing a khaki vest with black shorts. Director Guan Hu (管虎), watching nearby, remarked, “Even that vest feels like too much!” Later, Wu appeared shirtless in just khaki shorts. After the photos were taken, he shyly admitted, “I feel so embarrassed—I wasn’t ready!” The director added, “The real fishermen didn’t wear anything down there,” and then instructed the team to shorten his shorts even more.

On getting used to his final topless briefs-only look, which covers his vital parts but has his butt cheeks vaguely visible, Leo joked, “I’ve come to terms with it—my butt has become cheerful now!” Many fans exclaimed that this was his most revealing role to date, flooding the comments with praise for his fit physique; “This is the legendary 10% coverage ratio!”, “It’s giving me a nosebleed”.

The film, which was given a pre-screening at Cannes Film Festival, is expected to hit cinemas come August 8. It also stars actress Ni Ni (倪妮).

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