Lucy Liu could teach a seminar on what it is like to live in Hollywood on purpose. The Elementary level The actress met with other powerful women including Regina King, Samantha Bee, Jane Fonda, and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on April 20 for a conversation with Emily’s List Seeking a Role That would Fit the Competitive Character of The industry outgrew and how the coronavirus pandemic made it feel stronger in the end.
Lucy’s work spans decades, including various iconic characters. As she told presenter Zerlina Maxwell, this range of roles and projects is by design. “Character selection is something I want to keep varied for myself as an artist,” explained Lucy. She tries to explore the world outside of her own “microcosm” and attaches great importance to being true to herself about everything. “We don’t just want to take on roles because we should do it because we represent a race or a people,” she continued, emphasizing that people should not lose the other facets of their identity because of their race.
“I didn’t know I was capable of that.”
Her focus on individuality extends to her personal life as well, when Lucy found her most powerful self last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She didn’t try to escape her responsibility. Instead, she was tested in new ways, such as taking care of her 5-year-old son Rockwell at home when things were shut down and taking care of her ailing mother who was hospitalized. Like many Millennials and Gen Xers, she found herself in a generational sandwich watching over young and old. “It has helped me learn what I am more capable of than ever,” she said. “I didn’t know I was capable of that.”
Lucy’s ability to adapt to time was learned as she grew older, both at home and at work. During the Emily’s List discussion, she stated that she was more comfortable and cared less about the competitiveness of women in Hollywood. “I don’t know how to be anything other than myself,” she said. Lucy doesn’t want to limit herself to being compared to others. She trusts the audience to know when she is performing authentically, even when she starts a project like she has never done before. This philosophy guides her career in 2021. “I have a feeling that my best job is yet to come.”
