Malaysian actor and 'The Journey' star Lee Sai Peng, aka Uncle Frankie, passes away at 85

Malaysian actor Lee Sai Peng, fondly known as Uncle Frankie and best known for 2014 box-office hit 'The Journey', has died. He was 85 years old. — Photo: Filepic

Malaysian actor Lee Sai Peng, best known for 2014 box-office hit The Journey, has died. He was 85 years old.

The China Press reported yesterday that Lee passed away on Friday night (April 4), and that the actor had been diagnosed with a brain tumour five years ago.

Fondly known as Uncle Frankie, Lee shot to fame as a movie star at the age of 73 in 2014, when he made his film debut in The Journey.

(From front) Lee Sai Peng, Ben Andrew Pfeiffer, and Joanne Yew Hong in 'The Journey' — Filepic

The film went on to gross RM17.16mil to become the all-time highest-grossing local movie at the time.

The role also won Lee the best actor award at the 27th Malaysian Film Festival in 2015, making him the oldest winner ever at age 75.

Lee with his Malaysian Film Festival Best Actor Award, alongside Best actress Award winner Nur Fazura. — Photo: The Star/Filepic

The Journey director Chiu Keng Guan had cast Lee in the role because “I liked the way he walked, sat and moved in general," he said in an 2014 interview with StarLifestyle.

"What I didn’t know was that he didn’t read or write Chinese. I found out later that he was only fluent in English, but I’m glad that we managed to work around that eventually!"

Lee subsequently made appearances in other movies, including a supporting role in Michael Chuah's Special Forces (2016) and a cameo in Chiu's Ola Bola (2016). Lee's final film, Fight Lah! Kopitiam in 2020.

Lee (third from right) also made an appearance in 2016's Special Forces. — Photo: Filepic