This Actor Now Sells Meat Dumplings At A Market In Taiwan After Acting Opportunities Dried Up During The Pandemic

Taiwanese actor Artie Tsao (曹景俊), 44, who is best known for starring in Taiwanese long-form drama Life Is Beautiful, is now a meat dumpling seller.

Artie, who joined showbiz 20 years ago, now works at a market in Zhonghe Taipei selling traditional Taiwanese meat dumplings, or Ba Wan, which are popular street food found in night markets.

Speaking to Taiwanese media, he shared that he’s always had an interest in cooking, and that he started learning how to cook after working part-time at a supermarket in high school.

Artie shared that acting opportunities dried up considerably for him during the pandemic. Therefore, after seeing many of his friends start their own businesses, he decided to take the plunge too, and started learning how to make meat dumplings.

The actor arrives at his stall at 6am every morning, and officially opens for business at 7am.

He said he’s used to the early start times due to his work as an actor. However, as he has to stand for long hours to make the dumplings, his old injuries from filming started flaring up.

According to Artie, he injured his spine 10 years ago after falling from a horse, and that spending long hours on his feet has caused the injury to act up again.

Occasionally, he loses strength in his legs as well. Thankfully, he is seeking medical treatment to address these issues.

Artie is currently the only worker at the stall. The actor revealed laughingly that quite a number of stall owners and customers recognise him as “that actor guy”, due in part to his neatly gelled hair.

He added that he has grown used to always styling his hair neatly with gel, and that he was initially “laughed at” by fellow stall owners for doing so. Some felt that he was putting on an act, which left Artie feeling bemused.

Photos: Artie Tsao/Instagram