Malaysian actor recounts 'shiok' experience with Scarlett Johansson: Getting punched by her

44-year-old Malaysian actor Pete Teo is one of the few who can boast that they had a personal encounter with Hollywood darling Scarlett Johansson: He was punched by her on screen.

In the upcoming movie, ‘Ghost in the Shell’, Teo plays Tony, a ‘slightly crazy’ owner of a Yakuza nightclub that deals in illegal cybernetic enhancements, reports Asia News Network via AsiaOne. 

Johansson's character, Major, who is there following up on a lead, gets handcuffed to a pole in a small room with Tony.

In the ensuing fight, she punches Teo in the face, sending him flying.

The singer-songwriter, actor and filmmaker said that it took about a week to shoot the scene, which amounts to less than four minutes in the actual movie: "We shot it this time last year in Wellington, New Zealand. I was there for a few weeks."

He had to undergo harsh physical training just to prepare for the role.

He recalled: "The first week was mostly physical training to prepare for the role. Then it took a couple of weeks to get the look of the character right, and the actual shooting took about a week." 

He also had to put on heavy makeup for the role, which took two hours to put on each day.

According to him, Johansson was very professional and a breeze to work with: "She's really sporting and chatty, with no attitude at all. She's a really great actress, and definitely knows what she's doing."

Teo, who saw the complete movie a couple of weeks ago, said that seeing himself on-screen took some getting used to at first: "My initial thought was, 'Is that really me?'

"Overall, I enjoyed it. I was expecting the density or the darkness of the original anime, but I thought they paid homage to the whole thing very well."