Young sassy star

Darbo says acting's biggest challenge is crying on cue. [Photo provided to China Daily]

For Arman, the hardest part of acting is not the action, but crying.

His biggest challenge during the making of Kung Fu Man came on the second day of shooting among the mountains of Yunnan province.

It was an extremely emotional scene to film and Arman says, "It was very difficult because I had to cry on cue."

The directors told the young actor he should think about experiences that could elicit true emotions. Arman succeeded in crying on his second attempt, but he won't say what he thought about to bring tears to his eyes.

He seems like a natural actor, and comes from a family of movie lovers - his mother is a scriptwriter and his father set up a film production company in 2012 - but his own acting career began by accident.

He was just 6 years old when a casting agent approached the boy's parents during a family shopping trip in Beijing.

"The man asked if he wanted to do some commercials as a model for some clothes and we thought that was OK. Then the word spread. A TV series wanted him to appear in one episode and then a small documentary asked for him as well. Then Kung Fu Man called for an audition," says his father.

"It is a very good exercise in building self confidence. He is very much into daydreaming and thinking with a creative type of mind. Acting fits well with his personality."

And he now has a new role to take on as the son of a US architect who comes to Beijing to build the world's tallest tower in The Dragon Angel, which hasn't yet begun shooting.

Although he is now a movie star, it hasn't affected his life. Few classmates know he is an actor and Arman doesn't brag about it.

His friends may have noticed his new hobby though - Shaolin kung fu - which he began practicing after the making of Kung Fu Man.

However, it is another passion that is now tempting Arman in a different direction from acting - football. Asked whether he would like to make a career from acting he says: "How about I act in football movies? That's the best."

Contact the writer at mengjing@chinadaily.com.cn.