YetPresenceis more a domestic drama than a tale of paranormal activity.
The already-tense atmosphere only intensifies once the presence begins to fixate on Chloe.
Theres something very corrosive about whats happening within this family, says Liu.
Callina Liang in Steven Soderbergh’sPresence, in theaters now.
Corrosion is not something that you necessarily see.
Its something you seeafterthe fact.
Theres only so much that a person can hold before everything collapses.
Photo: Peter Andrews
Callina Liang:I have never read anything like it.
Even then, I didnt know what to expect until we started filming.
It was a huge surprise when I saw the whole thing.
Photo: Peter Andrews
Steven just really made it come to life, bit by bit.
Ive read that Steven sometimes uses an actors personal history to inform and recalibrate a role.
Im curious if the character Chloe evolved after you were cast?
Photo: Peter Andrews
But maybe thats related to me having a few similarities with the character herself.
What were some of those commonalities?
Chloe is very obviously a lost teenage girl who has never felt settled in any of her homes.
I relate to that feeling because I moved around a lot growing up.
The dorm I lived in was a former senior home converted into student housing.
I wouldnt say it was haunted, but there was definitely a spirit.
Lucy, do you believe in ghosts?
Whats your relationship to the paranormal?
Lucy Liu:For me, the paranormal is kind ofnormalbecause its about souls.
We are all souls that exist in these corporeal bodies.
Your characters relationship is quite fraught.
That made me think about Rebekah ahd Chloes dynamic differently.
How would you describe it?
Liu:The relationship between Rebekah and Chloe is complicated.
Theres such clear favoritism, and its strange.
I dont want to call it disinterest.
It almost feels like a casual abandonment of her daughter…who is actually there.
Lucy, I know that you have a son.
Did you draw on anything from your personal life for your portrayal of a boy mom?
Liu:Its funnyI didnt, because [Tyler] was in a very different age range.
I just worked off of [David Koepps] script because it was all there.
You never find out what happened with her work, with her husband, with the lawyer.
In some ways, that backstory is a little bit of a MacGuffin.
Everything shifts into something much more intangibleemotions of grief and loss and what that does to a person.
Its usually only in films specifically about the Asian American experience that you see an Asian American family.
Liang:A hundred percent.
The entire time you were asking that question, I thought, Absolutely.
Like, just be a girl.
A lot of tokenism and things like that still happen.
Liu:Its such a long road.
God forbid, theres more than one role!
Its not a highlightits just a given.
Carmen Cuba, the casting director, always has such an interesting eye.
Projects like this will create more opportunities where cultural identity isnt necessarily the focal point.
Callina, what was it like working with Lucy on set?
I assume she wasnt method acting and only talking to Eddie?
Liang:[Laughs.]
Outside of character, Lucy didnt favor anyone.
It all felt very intricate, and the emotions came very naturally.
We didnt venture to push anything.
We just learned how to coexist in a room together.
How did Steven prep you?
Did the way he filmed affect how you acted?
He didnt really give us a lot of direction.
Liang:We ended up getting together in our own time.
Its not just me!
Liu:It was kind of like theater, so every take had to be on point.
We had to be ready to go.
The most challenging thing for me was just getting out of my own head.
Coming onto this project was a big step for me.
Since Steven wasnt keen on giving notes, was there ever an exchange of advice on acting between you?
Liu:Not really, because I thought she was doing such a phenomenal job.
I just told her to go easy on herself because she really was beating herself up.
Actors get used to constantly being told to do this, do that.
Some directors cantnotgive direction; they cant stop it.
But I think if youre doing it right, then they dont need to.
I could just see how she holds herself and take that into my own performance.
She just made me feel so comfortable, and we always had such a laugh.
So, Lucy, what is your skin-care routine?
I told Callina that she didnt need to do anything.
Shes so young and beautiful.
Im not a dermatologist or scientist.
I dont do facials.
I dont wash my face with soap all the time, unless Ive done some massive press tour.
I use a washcloth all the time and whatever I have in my medicine cabinet.
I just want three.
Ive become really minimalist in terms of products.
I think sometimes you’ve got the option to overdo it.
Its funny because I was always criticized when I was younger for my skin.
I have freckles, and my mother would say we have to get rid of them.
Now, Ive come to accept that this is my face.
These are the freckles.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
