Theyve also appeared on critically acclaimed shows likeThe Afterparty,American Born Chinese, andBetter Call Saul.
Were you familiar with Liz Feldmans work?
And what was it like working with her?
I feel like her process is probably interesting from her style of writing.
I feel like I can watch something or hear something and know if its Liz.
I cant handle true crime anymore.
Image via Netflix
I really can’t do it.
I used to love it, but I can’t even watch anything that’s scary.
I think maybe becoming a mother now, the world is getting too real.
Image via Netflix
I know too much.
Things are too bad out there.
I don’t know what it is, but I’m way too emotionally weak.
Image via Netflix
A nice middle ground.
We’re not traumatized by queerness.
That’s our thing.
Image via HBO Max
But I would say, overall,it’s a very functioning, healthy, loving relationship.
Or, We’re in this together, and we’re this team.
I found that to be pretty inspiring.
Image via Prime Video
I’m very independent.
I don’t feel a shortage of love in my life.
It still feels kind of new for me to be like, What does that look like?
No Good Deed is a dark comedy series created by Liz Feldman for Netflix and stars Ray Romano as Paul Morgan in the lead role. Out of money and at the end of his rope, Paul considers selling his beautiful villa so he can pay his debts off and leave Los Angeles, but as he and two other families soon discover, the past is difficult to outrun.
What does it feel like to have?
So it’s just nice.
Theres an ethically grey aspect, but shes trying her best its an interesting dichotomy.
What was it like to dive into that aspect of her?
Their dynamic is very much thatLeslie is the head, and Sarah is the heart.
I think Sarah is so heart-forward and does mean the best and is incredibly caring and empathic.
There’s a version of her thats like, I’m keeping the secret to protect Leslie.
I’m doing it out of love.
I think we all do stuff like that.
We like saving someone else the trouble, but it comes back to bite you after.
But I do think she has good intentions.
She has a good heart.
I was so excited to see you two get to work together in this.
What was it like working with her?
Because you guys have such great chemistry and such a fun dynamic.
LIU: It was really, really easy.
When I was cast, we had never had a chemistry read before.
I did meet with Liz and Silver Tree, who was our director for many episodes.
Liz directed some episodes, too.
It was just incredibly easy.
You did that on purpose.
LIU: It was a lot of character motivation stuff.
We wanted to fill in the internal landscape of who Sarah is.
It was a lot of backstory about how long Leslie and I had been together.
Have we talked about having a family before?
Where is Leslie’s head versus mine?
It wasmaking Leslie and my relationship very realbecause that is my anchor point in the show.
We talked about spirituality.
We chatted and vibed with each other, and it felt good.
Do we want to be on set together and hang out?
And we were like, Yeah, it feels great.
Your characters are definitely a power couple, but they’re also so dorky with each other.
I was like, This is cringe in my favorite way.
LIU: I think it was actually Abbi’s line.
Can you say this?
And sometimes, we’ll ask her, What would be your line read of it?
because it’s such a specific Lizism.
And we were both just like, What?
[Laughs] But its also so cute and real.
But its stuff like that.
I think she had to say,Well, fuck-a-doodle-dooor something.
And we were just like, Could we just hear you say it, Liz?
And then like we’re like, Okay, cool, cool, cool.
We could see how that could be a thing.
Shes also like the nicest person on earth, too.
We are weirdly, as characters, on a very similar page in terms of this spirituality aspect.
I think we’re two characters who define ourselves a lot by motherhood in different ways.
Lisa is so brilliant and wonderful to work with.
There are few people that I’ve met working that I’ve legitimately felt starstruck by.
I have this grounded approach.
I dont know I just felt kind of emotional seeing her.
after stuttering for a long time was just, Um…thank you.
And she was so sweet, and she just goes, You’re welcome?
And Im like, Cool.
And I faded away.
I was like, Yeah, that went awesome.
LIU: I love her.
Youre the house that all the kids want to go to and escape their own house.
She’s the nicest.
But she’s really great.
Thats one of her first, I think.
LIU: Yeah, its so iconic.
I’m obsessed with her.
Poppy Liu Reveals How Motherhood Has Impacted Their Work
Obviously, you mentioned this is an ensemble.
I have to say, it harkened back toDead Ringers.
I’m curious if you found any parallels.
I don’t know if I’ve gotten to play someone that’s like that.
[Laughs]
A little bit of a different vibe.
You’re showing range.
LIU: Motherhood has changed everything about me.
I think many mothers and parents would probably attest to that, too.
That made it very easy to understand Sarah’s desire to have a child and a family.
It feels very primal.
I think having a child reorients all your priorities in life.
In some way, I found thatit gives me a lot of clarity.
It’s a lot easier for me to let go of stuff.
I think I give less of a fuck.
Theres nothing in my life that I’ve experienced that I love as much as my child.
It also rapidly made me have to become the best version of myself.
To be the best mother I can be to them.
I feel more at peace internally.
When I talked to you forDead Ringers, you gave me a character playlist that was iconic.
LIU: That was a really good playlist!
It was areallygood playlist.
I’m curious if you have one for Sarah.
LIU: I dont know if I do.
There was less heavy lifting I had to do to be like, What’s going on for Sarah?
I was like, Oh, that makes sense.
I dont think I have one, but maybe I will make one.
I feel like, honestly, Sarah’s playlist would be like the NPR jazz channel.
LIU: I will be in that.
I kind of do my Kiki thing there.
But I will say thatwe are in Kiki’s home turf of Vegaswhen we see her.
I did have to brush up on blackjack dealing again.
Okay, very exciting!
Another project sees you working with Boots Riley, which is iconic.
Anything you might tease about that one for us?
Its very much a dream.
Its all of the things.
I’m really excited about my character because she’s very much a Chinese girl.
I don’t feel like I get to play just Chinese characters a lot Im usually very much Chinese-American.
I was really nerding out about it.
Boots is incredibly thoughtful about all those things as well.
I’m getting all of my Chinese friends to teach me the dirtiest, nastiest curse words.
Because my Chinese is really innocent I mostly speak it with my mom and my dad sometimes.
and I was like, I actually feel too embarrassed to say to you.
I feel like it would be dishonorable, and I really can’t.
I can’t wait for that.
LIU: Yeah, that one’s incredibly dark.
That show is very, very dark.
It’s based on the book [by Alice Feeney].
I get to work with William Oldroyd, who’s another filmmaker whos a dream to work with.
He didLady MacbethandEileenmore recently.
He’s so awesome.
Butthat world is so dark, and there is no levity to it.
It’s dark and visually very beautiful.
That’s been fun to work on.
I can say I play a really cunty headmistress of an all-girls prep school.
Poppy Liu Discusses the Importance of Activism
Oh, I’m ready.
I’m following you on Instagram, and I feel like that’s inspiring to see.
LIU: I really appreciate it.
[Laughs] It feels like our responsibility as artists.
It can feel like, What is the point?
Will anything ever change?
What is our role in it?
Actually put individual stories to this increasing number of deaths that’s like happening.
Center the world somewhere other than ourselves and see the world not only from this US or Western standpoint.
Also, normalize talking about.
In every industry and very much so Hollywood there’s a lot of McCarthyism and censorship around it.
I have a lot of friends who have been dropped from their agencies and have lost jobs.
I have lost work because of it, too.
I thinkthe more we normalize talking about it, the safer other people feel to join the movement.
We all have our lane and our role to play.
There’s no world in which I could see myself not doing this.
Even with the consequences or whatever, I don’t see an alternative.
And I was like, It would suck, but I think I would be okay still.
There’s nothing that would make me sacrifice my soul for that.
I remember talking to my mom about it, and it was so great.
I was like, What if I don’t work again?
Blah, blah, blah.
It would suck, but thats that.
She was like, You could be a teacher.
And I was like, I sure could.
There are a million other things.
The world doesn’t end.
I always think about that You could be a teacher.
No Good Deedis now streaming on Netflix.
