Lucy Liu on Why She Spent Five Years Bringing ‘Rosemead’ to the Big Screen: ‘Even if One Person Sees It, That’s All That Matters’
From “Ally McBeal” to “Elementary” “Kill Bill Vol. 1,” “Charlie’s Angels” and Steven Soderbergh’s
“Presence,” Lucy Liu has created memorable characters, and the actor is also an accomplished artist. But, as Gold House readies to bestow her with the Legend award May 11 at the Gold Gala, she says, “It’s so moving. To be honored among your peers and the Asian community, in general, is a destination. It’s a little bit like your family and your family that you may not know. There’s a feeling of pride, and this extension of culture, which is different from the people that you work with that are not necessarily from the same place. I know from my life, my parents were not really that into this career, so it’s very touching.”
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Liu spoke with Variety ahead of the Gold Gala to reflect on her recent and upcoming projects, painting and why telling the story of “Rosemead” matters.
What makes you say yes to a project?
It’s about the people and the creative part of doing something with them because you’ve worked so closely with them, and sometimes you never see them again. But that’s the greatness that I want to achieve, just to be surrounded by creative people. There’s an openness to that, and I appreciate it when somebody has a point of view.
Last year, you directed an episode of “American Born Chinese,” and over the years, you’ve directed some episodes of TV, is that something you’d like to explore? [Creator] Kelvin Yu did such an incredible job working on that and making it culturally relevant and zeitgeisty. I love directing, but I think for me, for now, I want to spend the time being creative as opposed to trying to wrangle everybody together.
You have two very different films coming up, “Red One” and “Rosemead.” What can you tell us about them?
“Red One” is a big commercial movie with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. It’s exciting to be able to be fluid in a creative way, and it doesn’t matter what the scope is.
“Rosemead” is something I produced and have been working on for the last five years. It’s a true story and very low budget, but such an important story about mental health. It’s fun to be able to be in this world and tell important stories and to entertain people.
Five years is a long time. What kept you going in order to get “Rosemead” completed?
Mental health is not something that’s discussed in a lot of cultures, and I can only speak for Asian culture, which is what this revolves around. It’s something that people are embarrassed about, ashamed of, and don’t want to recognize or acknowledge, and people are losing their lives because of that.
To me, this is an important enough subject matter that it’s worth putting everything on the line [for] and putting it out there. Even if one person sees it, that’s all that matters.
If I saw this, and if I was struggling, I would feel seen by a crew of people [who] put themselves out there. The way that I grew up, I didn’t feel seen. It’s crucial to recognize that people are under a great deal of stress, but it also creates a tsunami effect on your children, family and everyone around you.
Do you still find time to paint?
Yes, I’ve been working in the studio for a long time, and it’s a very important part of expression. It’s just like breathing, you just do it. But it’s also terrifying because you’re generally used to working on your own in the studio, and then you go out and you’re working with a crew, and then you get used to being in that group. It’s a really strange feeling of isolation, and then feeling untethered. I think that’s a good thing. I think fear is a reminder of your ego, and to be free, you have to let go of everything. That’s what art is, absolute freedom.
This interview has been edited and condensed
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