Playboy's 20Q: Lucy Liu

Just when the hit series Ally McBeal was becoming predictable in its unpredictability, a litigious powerhouse named Ling Woo turned the show on its head. She's played by actor Lucy Liu.

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Liu grew up in Queens. She attended NYU and later the University of Michigan, where she majored in Asian languages and cultures. During her senior year, Liu auditioned for a supporting role in Andre Gregory's stage adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Instead, she won the lead, and her acting career was born.

Liu's work in theater productions, including M. Butterfly, led to guest appearances on NYPD Blue, The X-Files and LA Law. A role on ER brought her to the attention of Ally McBeal creator David Kelley, who was searching for new characters and story lines. He immediately cast Liu in a supporting role.

Liu has parlayed her exposure on the show into a growing movie career, including a memorable role as a dominatrix opposite Mel Gibson in Payback. "I read the script," she said, "and thought it was dark and interesting." She has also appeared in Clint Eastwood's True Crime and in Molly with Elisabeth Shue.

Liu still finds time for stage work as a member of Los Angeles' Met Theater Development Ensemble. And, she's an accomplished fine artist who has had solo shows in Soho and Venice, California.

Robert Crane caught up with the indefatigable Liu on the set of Ally McBeal in Los Angeles. He reports: "Liu changed into a skimpy leather ensemble for her role as Ling Woo and asked me to zip her up. It was my pleasure. While we sat in her dressing room, she constantly tugged at her skirt as she became more animated and vocal. The frequent interruptions by makeup artists, assistant directors, personal assistants and a boyfriend with two dogs didn't affect Liu's stream of thought. She's beautiful, determined and opinionated, and she has a great pair of legs, which she attributes to climbing--rock climbing."

1

[Q] Playboy: Ling Woo, the character you play on Ally McBeal, has been responsible for some innovative TV moments, such as licking Richard Fish's lips. For what other breakthroughs do you want to be responsible?

[A] Liu: Ling has done a lot of stuff. She's licked lips, she's sucked fingers and she's given hair jobs. I don't know how David Kelley comes up with these things. They are now the mark of Ling. She definitely has a lot of other things up her sleeve. She's trying to show Fish a little more about foreplay. I think there's also a power struggle between Ling and Fish: He wants to have intercourse and she doesn't want to--to the extent that she's trying to prove a point. She has to stand strong. She might have a lot of other things in store before she gives it up to him. It makes it a little more interesting. I think the tension will build--at least for him.

2

[Q] Playboy: You're a martial artist, fine artist, accordion player, rock climber. What do you have against being lazy?

[A] Liu: Sometimes I'm lazy, but I always have something creative I want to do or work on. It's nice to lounge around the house. But if you're an artist, you got to have some fucking money. You work at McDonald's if you have to. You got to earn some money so you have confidence when you walk into a room and present yourself. Success is definitely a point of view, but success to me is just like, Hey, guess what? I'm paying my own rent. I went out and bought this food. I used to get up at three or four o'clock in the morning to make omelettes for people just so I could have some money. Believe me, I didn't want to do that. It wasn't a great job, but I did it. I'm a firm believer in not living off somebody else. I'm really independent that way, and I hope I remain that way. Get off your ass is what I would say.

3

[Q] Playboy: What's the most enduring myth about Asian women?

[A] Liu: That our vaginas are slit a different way. That's the major one. Mine is, however, and I'm proud of it. It's a nice discovery, but now that you're printing it, nobody will be curious anymore.

4

[Q] Playboy: Defend that most maligned instrument--the accordion.

[A] Liu: Defend it? There's nothing to defend! It's an instrument that breathes with you. You control the sound, you create the energy, you determine how loud it is. The emotional backing of the instrument is something you create also, depending on how much you pull and push and how much you breathe with it. Somebody can play one song completely flat, and someone else can play it with so much emotion you're on the verge of tears. It's something you create. It's like a part of you--as opposed to a guitar or a flute. Go blow on that!

5

[Q] Playboy: Rock climbing: You climb like crazy, then you come down. Are we missing something?

[A] Liu: I understand why people do extreme sports: They give you a feeling you can't match. It's close to death. It's so dangerous that you get a certain high from it. Once you get that high, there's nothing you can replace it with. I lived in New York all my life and was never athletic. I came out here and I started doing things I'd never done before, like hiking and roller-skating. Women are better climbers than men, generally, because men usually try to muscle their way up with their arms. By the time (continued on page 151) Lucy Liu (continued from page 119) they're a quarter of the way up they are exhausted and they've blown themselves out. Women usually have stronger legs. It's called the four points--if your four points are even, then your energy is dispersed in a good way. It's a Zen way of working out. You feel like you're reaching a goal. You have to try it to understand it. It's actually a really safe sport if you do it right, because you're completely locked into the rock. If you do fall, you should be hanging--everything should be attached.

6

[Q] Playboy: How good can a non-Asian get with chopsticks? Any tips?

[A] Liu: Pretty good. There's a right way to use them and I don't use them properly. I have friends who are Canadian and Caucasian and American who use chopsticks much better than I do. I don't use them properly, but I get the food and that's the most important thing.

7

[Q] Playboy: You're an artist. Do you understand the reviews in Artforum?

[A] Liu: They reviewed a piece I saw in New York titled White on White. It was white canvas with white paint on it. They went into this whole breakdown of the idea behind it. After a while you start thinking, Wow, it was a really good idea for this person to paint white on white. It's revolutionary. In reality it was white on white--anyone could have done it. I think art is subjective. I applied for an NEA grant once. I submitted slides of my work along with an impassioned essay. They ended up giving the grant to somebody who was handing out dollar bills in Mexico. It was about the energy of giving the money out. I was really pissed off. I don't understand that or things that are really abstract. I'm a visual person. I understand that modern art is different. I can appreciate it to a certain degree, but it kind of pisses me off.

8

[Q] Playboy: In Payback, did Mel Gibson come quietly or did you have to rough him up a bit?

[A] Liu: Roughing up is always a good thing, never forget that. Everybody likes to be roughed up. And I don't think any man comes quietly. Mel is a great guy.

9

[Q] Playboy: Are we condemned to choose one from column A and one from column B, or are we free to choose whatever we want from all over the menu?

[A] Liu: In my life, I choose from every column. People grow and change. You learn about stuff, you get more experienced, you learn you were ignorant before. You can't expect to know everything. I wasn't allowed to watch Three's Company when I was growing up because it was about two women and a guy living together. We always sneaked in and watched it even though we weren't supposed to. When you start categorizing things, that's when people go crazy. You want column B because you're in column A. You want anything you don't have. But you shouldn't deny yourself anything.

10

[Q] Playboy: Do you get off on the idea of having a love slave?

[A] Liu: I get so off on it. It's great. I love it because he bows down to me and it's such a feeling of power. His weakness is something that's just delicious. Weakness can be delicious, but only when [Ally McBeal co-star] Greg Germann delivers it. Sometimes it's just like, Good Lord, get the spatula, get the jellyfish off me. But when Greg does it, it's like quivering. You just want to slap him, and when you do, he enjoys it. He eats it up. The more he enjoys it, the more you enjoy it. So we work off each other's energy. Plus, he's so powerful in his everyday life as a lawyer and a money fiend that it's nice to see him get down and quiver.

11

[Q] Playboy: Is this real acting for you, or do you see where it comes from?

[A] Liu: It's hard for me. I was so terrified the day I had to lick Fish's finger, because it was so phallic. I was on the verge of tears because it was like I was selling my soul on national television--licking this guy's cock, practically. If anything, it would get me a second job at the Pink Pussycat Theater. I was so terrified, and then I just did it. I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Then I had to do it again a few episodes later and it was easier. I guess it was easier because I'm accepting myself more as a woman people are attracted to. I'm seeing that I can be a leading lady doing these things.

12

[Q] Playboy: If you thought Calista Flockhart were too thin, you'd tell her, right?

[A] Liu: No, I wouldn't. I'm just not close enough to her to tell her something like that. I think she looks great. She is in great shape. If people thought I were too heavy, I'm not sure I'd want them to tell me. It's a personal issue.

13

[Q] Playboy: Your character, Ling, describes men as horny toads. Is that so wrong?

[A] Liu: It's not so much that it's wrong, because women are horny toads too a lot of the time. Sometimes women want to go out and screw and leave in the morning just like some guys do. I just happen to think that, as a whole, women are a lot more emotional and need a certain amount of security that men don't always have the ability to offer. It's a social issue, it's a gender issue, and it's something that gets in the way. But it's not particularly bad.

14

[Q] Playboy: How can you avoid being a moron in love?

[A] Liu: Can't. You have to be a moron in love. That's the fucked-up thing about love. I've done so many stupid things. When I'm really into something I'm in it all the way. I'll do almost anything without thinking about it until the relationship is over. Then I just think about what a fucking idiot I was. You give yourself 100 percent to the relationship or to the person and you can't think straight. Your mind is somewhere else. In fact, Hallmark should make a Valentine's Day card that says, "Thank you for being such a moron." Maybe I'll do it if this job doesn't work out.

15

[Q] Playboy: What are the danger signs that a relationship is over the top?

[A] Liu: When there's a lot of unnecessary drama in the relationship. When you walk in the door and he's got his penis hanging out of his pants. Normal stuff. He has gone and got a scrotum tuck--that's when you know something's gone wrong. You know, those telltale everyday things.

16

[Q] Playboy: Asian sex secrets--myth, hype or just plain good sense?

[A] Liu: The mystique should live on, baby. Everyone thinks what they do is really mysterious and wonderful and unique and that they're the best lover in the world. Everyone should have that mentality, or they should try to improve on it. The Asian mystique is that you don't talk and you look really small. That's the attraction. Keep your mouth shut and turn over! I don't know what the Asian sex secrets are--if somebody has them, let me know.

17

[Q] Playboy: Can you envision an adult film based on The Karate Kid?

[A] Liu: Yeah, Whacks On, Whacks Off. Enough said. No one's ever forgotten that phrase. There have been so many funny spoofs on films. I get a kick out of them, though I don't know if I would ever actually want to go to the theater to see them.

18

[Q] Playboy: What is the best message you've received in a fortune cookie?

[A] Liu: [Pulling them out of her wallet] "Be assertive and you will win." "You will be unusually successful in business." "Get away from home for a while to restore your energies." That's the best one. "Your talents are in fine shape, utilize them to their fullest."

19

[Q] Playboy: Which of men's many shortcomings should they get over?

[A] Liu: If you're working and they're not. If you have money and they don't have any, it's not a big deal. If he has a small penis, I don't give a shit. I don't want to hear about it. I don't want him constantly talking about it. It's so ridiculous, so silly. The more he emphasizes it, the more I'm going to focus on it. Shut up! I'm no expert on men's shortcomings, but I think there's a certain amount of ego involved with most men--that's what makes men men. I love men. They are extremely odd animals of prey. That's what makes them so wonderful. If anything, men are mysterious. If you try to break everything down and analyze it, you're going to have too much information on your hands. You're not going to know what to do with it. You have to experience it as it is. If it doesn't work out, move on to the next one.

20

[Q] Playboy: What would you order in a bar to signal sexual readiness?

[A] Liu: Listen, honey, if I order anything in a bar I'm ready. I'm not a heavy drinker. If I drink at all, I start getting loose and feeling pretty crazy. I think alcohol makes you feel immortal, like you can jump off a building or leap in front of a car. I love drinking sake, and sometimes I'll have an Absolut and cranberry with a lime or something like that. But I have to do it with somebody I'm really comfortable with and who I can eliminate the next day. Who won't be missed? I can put him out of his misery.