NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n- \n\n
Lucy Liu spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her career and new movie Rosemead<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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\u201cTo think that I\u2019ve been in this business for over 30 years and now have the first leading role like this is kind of crazy,\u201d she said of the indie drama<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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Liu also said she \u201cwould\u2019ve had so many more opportunities\u201d in Hollywood if she were \u201csomebody who looks Caucasian\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Lucy Liu<\/a> is opening up about landing her first dramatic leading role in a movie \u2014 despite decades of work as a mainstream Hollywood star.<\/p>\nRosemead<\/a> (in theaters Dec. 5) features Liu, 56, as both producer and lead actress, which is a rarity in her career, as she notes in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cI started doing indies,\u201d she said. \u201cI was lucky enough to fall into the commercial world \u2014 but those are kind of more side-salad roles. They\u2019re not necessarily roles that would challenge me or tap into my potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike the action-heavy roles Liu is known for \u2014\u00a0such as Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Kill Bill<\/a> or the Charlie\u2019s Angels<\/a> movies \u2014 Rosemead casts the actress in a more intimate and dramatic light. In the Eric Lin-directed indie, based on a true story as told in a 2017 Los Angeles Times article, she plays Irene, a Chinese immigrant struggling in the wake of her son\u2019s schizophrenia diagnosis.<\/p>\n![\"Vertical](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/1c1IOal7y.k649UQd2gWsQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/65194963af880836923af112e795b671\"\/)
<\/span><\/div>\n\nVertical<\/p>\n
Lucy Liu in ‘Rosemead’<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI feel like it\u2019s always been in there,\u201d Liu said of her performance, which has earned multiple festival awards since Rosemead\u2019s 2025 Tribeca Film Festival premiere. \u201cI just haven\u2019t had any opportunities to tap into it. I mean, to think that I\u2019ve been in this business for over 30 years and now have the first leading role like this is kind of crazy. I did not know that until somebody pointed it out on the team. I\u2019ve never really looked at myself in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe mother of one<\/a> proceeded to speak with candor about biases in Hollywood, for example, being called out for perpetuating \u201cDragon Lady\u201d stereotypes after playing a warrior in 2003\u2019s Kill Bill.<\/p>\n\u201cWhy isn\u2019t anyone else perpetuating the stereotype when we\u2019re all assassins?\u201d she asked. \u201cVivica Fox or Daryl Hannah or Uma Thurman were not. I don\u2019t even know if they have a word in English for American people. Well, I\u2019m American, but I look like this, so I cannot get away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liu also recalled the \u201cstrange lull\u201d after the success of her action movies and her award-winning run on the series Ally McBeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember being like, \u2018Why isn\u2019t there more happening?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to participate in anything where I felt like they weren\u2019t even taking me seriously. How am I being given these offers that are less than when I started in this business? It was a sign of disrespect to me, and I didn\u2019t really want that. I didn\u2019t want to acquiesce to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued, \u201cI haven\u2019t gone out and changed my face; there\u2019s only so much I can do. I cannot turn myself into somebody who looks Caucasian, but if I could, I would\u2019ve had so many more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/zzTduQJtmeUU.N8ae.Tr2A--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/people_218\/26df69ba3e1ae7051a6a2eccf11ab17c\"\/)
<\/span><\/div>\n\nAndrew Cooper\/Miramax<\/p>\n
Lucy Liu in ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’<\/p><\/div>\n
Rosemead, costarring Lawrence Shou, Orion Lee, Jennifer Lim, Madison Hu, James Chen, is in theaters Dec. 5. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, a re-release<\/a> of Tarantino’s two hits, arrives in theaters the same day.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of my own Barbenheimer moment, but very different,\u201d Liu told THR with a laugh. \u201cI don\u2019t even know how to label that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Also among Liu\u2019s upcoming projects is The Devil Wears Prada 2<\/a>, in theaters May 1, 2026.<\/p>\n
Lucy Liu spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her career and new movie Rosemead<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
\u201cTo think that I\u2019ve been in this business for over 30 years and now have the first leading role like this is kind of crazy,\u201d she said of the indie drama<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
Liu also said she \u201cwould\u2019ve had so many more opportunities\u201d in Hollywood if she were \u201csomebody who looks Caucasian\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Lucy Liu<\/a> is opening up about landing her first dramatic leading role in a movie \u2014 despite decades of work as a mainstream Hollywood star.<\/p>\n Rosemead<\/a> (in theaters Dec. 5) features Liu, 56, as both producer and lead actress, which is a rarity in her career, as she notes in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI started doing indies,\u201d she said. \u201cI was lucky enough to fall into the commercial world \u2014 but those are kind of more side-salad roles. They\u2019re not necessarily roles that would challenge me or tap into my potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike the action-heavy roles Liu is known for \u2014\u00a0such as Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Kill Bill<\/a> or the Charlie\u2019s Angels<\/a> movies \u2014 Rosemead casts the actress in a more intimate and dramatic light. In the Eric Lin-directed indie, based on a true story as told in a 2017 Los Angeles Times article, she plays Irene, a Chinese immigrant struggling in the wake of her son\u2019s schizophrenia diagnosis.<\/p>\n Vertical<\/p>\n Lucy Liu in ‘Rosemead’<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI feel like it\u2019s always been in there,\u201d Liu said of her performance, which has earned multiple festival awards since Rosemead\u2019s 2025 Tribeca Film Festival premiere. \u201cI just haven\u2019t had any opportunities to tap into it. I mean, to think that I\u2019ve been in this business for over 30 years and now have the first leading role like this is kind of crazy. I did not know that until somebody pointed it out on the team. I\u2019ve never really looked at myself in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The mother of one<\/a> proceeded to speak with candor about biases in Hollywood, for example, being called out for perpetuating \u201cDragon Lady\u201d stereotypes after playing a warrior in 2003\u2019s Kill Bill.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy isn\u2019t anyone else perpetuating the stereotype when we\u2019re all assassins?\u201d she asked. \u201cVivica Fox or Daryl Hannah or Uma Thurman were not. I don\u2019t even know if they have a word in English for American people. Well, I\u2019m American, but I look like this, so I cannot get away from it.\u201d<\/p>\n Liu also recalled the \u201cstrange lull\u201d after the success of her action movies and her award-winning run on the series Ally McBeal.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember being like, \u2018Why isn\u2019t there more happening?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to participate in anything where I felt like they weren\u2019t even taking me seriously. How am I being given these offers that are less than when I started in this business? It was a sign of disrespect to me, and I didn\u2019t really want that. I didn\u2019t want to acquiesce to that.\u201d<\/p>\n She continued, \u201cI haven\u2019t gone out and changed my face; there\u2019s only so much I can do. I cannot turn myself into somebody who looks Caucasian, but if I could, I would\u2019ve had so many more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n Andrew Cooper\/Miramax<\/p>\n Lucy Liu in ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’<\/p><\/div>\n Rosemead, costarring Lawrence Shou, Orion Lee, Jennifer Lim, Madison Hu, James Chen, is in theaters Dec. 5. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, a re-release<\/a> of Tarantino’s two hits, arrives in theaters the same day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of my own Barbenheimer moment, but very different,\u201d Liu told THR with a laugh. \u201cI don\u2019t even know how to label that.\u201d<\/p>\n Also among Liu\u2019s upcoming projects is The Devil Wears Prada 2<\/a>, in theaters May 1, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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