Shanghai Int'l Film Festival: Social Network actor Jesse Eisenberg meets Chinese audience

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At a forum during the Shanghai International Film Festival, American actor, author and playwright Jesse Eisenberg greeted his Chinese fans. It was a unique chance, to SHARE his ideas and works. Xu Mengqi tells us more.

An unusual treat for Chinese fans of American actor and author Jesse Eisenberg. Their favorite actor and writer reads them an excerpt from his book: Bream Gives Me Hiccups.

WANG JINGJING EISENBERG FAN "I think he has a great sense of humor, writing the book from the viewpoint of a nine-year old boy."

At this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, Eisenberg met his Chinese audience and shared with them how he approaches his different jobs. And while he's best known for playing Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in the 2010 film The Social Network, Eisenberg says the film that resonated most with him was his first one.

JESSE EISENBERG AMERICAN ACTOR, PLAYWRIGHT AND AUTHOR "When I was 18 years old, I got into a movie that was like a small New York city independent movie called Roger Doger, and it was a movie that not many people saw, but enough people saw it who were in the entertainment industry to ask me to play in other movies. For me that was the biggest difference."

And when it comes to writing, Eisenberg attributes his humor and intelligence to his education and cultural background.

JESSE EISENBERG AMERICAN ACTOR, PLAYWRIGHT AND AUTHOR "I liked writing jokes, and when I was younger, I started reading books by Philip Roth, Woody Allen, you know, writers who have had similar upbringings as me. I started thinking like them."

While his writing is his own creative genius, Eisenberg says acting complements it by letting him get immersed in someone else's imagination.

XU MENGQI SHANGHAI "From his interaction with fans and the media, Eisenberg revealed that for him, the thrill of movies is the exposure to a culture that would have otherwise been inaccessible. That, he says, allows him to humble himself and keep learning."

It is exactly this openness to new experiences and perspectives that makes Eisenberg's Chinese fans like him.

LIU YANXI EISENBERG FAN "His works touches on so many things. I first knew him through the Social Network, and then I started reading his novels. I think he is truly talented. It's rare to have someone who is a great actor but also an independent thinker and writer."

So despite waking up at 5 am for a ticket to the forum, Liu Yanxi says it is well worth the wait. A commitment many Eisenberg fans will have for years to come. Xu Mengqi, CGTN, Shanghai.