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As her newest film, The Man with the Iron Fists, hits theaters this month, University of Michigan alum Lucy Liu chats with fellow actor Idris Elba about true beauty, Tarantino, and her talent for playing powerful women. KILLER LADY Photography by Andrew Eccles I n hits as varied as Ally McBeal, Charlie's Angels, and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1, Lucy Liu has made a career out of playing beautiful women who also happen to be tough as nails. And though she was born and raised in Queens, the Emmy-nominated actress spent her college years at the University of Michigan, IE: You graduated from the University of where she first explored her passion for perfor- mance. That passion is still paying off, as Liu is Michigan. What did you like about it? currently starring in CBS's new Elementary with Jonny Lee Miller and with Russell Crowe in this month's film release of The Man with the Iron Fists. Now, in an exclusive interview for Michigan Avenue, the actress shows her softer side to close friend and 2012 Golden Globe winner Idris Elba (Luther); she opens up about career choices, rela- tionship foibles, and how her years spent in the Midwest helped her become the fierce per- former, artist, and woman she is today. Idris Elba: Lucy, you have such an amazing career. What would you say has made it so long and successful? Lucy Liu: Number one, you really have to risk everything—you have to take chances and take on 96 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM LL: I liked how green it was; I had never been exposed to anything like that before. I thought Flushing Meadows in Queens was green, but this just went on! I learned a lot about nature, and through that I learned a lot about myself. I like the different kinds of people I met in Michigan. When I lived in New York, everyone was wearing black, and [in Michigan] they were wearing different col- ors, which I had never really quite experienced. It was the first time I was away from home, and I was able to choose for myself what I wanted to study, what different classes I wanted to take, and what I wanted to eat.... It was the beginning of adulthood for me, and that transition was so pivotal and incredibly challenging. projects that are pretty diverse. Just because you do film, don't limit yourself. You should also do the- ater because it puts you out there in a terrifying way in front of a live audience and it really tests your skills. The more flexible you are, the more the lon- gevity of your career is going to sustain itself. That's what actors want. We don't want to blow up for two years or five years and then be done. IE: You've worked with amazing directors, most notably Quentin Tarantino. What was one nug- get of wisdom that Tarantino taught you? LL: To really be able to listen. When I first met him, we went to Toi, this rock 'n' roll Thai restau- rant on Sunset Boulevard. We sat down at the table, and he started describing the character of O-Ren Ishii [from Kill Bill], acting out all the parts, the fake laughs, the sound effects... and I'm there eating my pad thai, trying to eat casu- ally, but I feel like I'm a stunned audience member. If somebody is that excited to tell you something, it really is incredible how much you can learn from him or her. You can't replicate that kind of passion. IE: I love that. So, you are beautiful. Do you have any insecurities about yourself, where you look in the mirror and go, "I wish I had two less freckles?" LL: I grew up as a tomboy, and if you've seen photographs of me as a child, you see my mother cut all of my hair off. I had no hair: Picture Sinéad O'Connor with a two-week grow-out. I was not considered feminine at all, and boys did not look at me. I was a toothpick.