Although this is a good interview, I made only one little addition to it. The writer mentioned that Lucy Liu was on an episode of Sex and the City, but didn't include what episode it was. So as a fan of the show, I went ahead and put in that information.
Lucy Liu Can Still Kick Your Ass in Heels
Before Karlie Kloss boxed through Bad Blood and Jennifer Lawrence won The Hunger Games, there was Lucy Liu.
Smart, tough, and gorgeous, the New York native did her own stunts for Charlie's Angels and Kill Bill. She shaded Samantha Jones on Sex and the City (season 4 episode 11: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda) and terrorized Portia de Rossi on Ally McBeal. In 2000, Liu became the first Asian woman to host Saturday Night Live and for the past four years, she's flexed her lingual muscles in the Kung Fu Panda franchise, recording her character Viper in both English and Mandarin.
Now Liu solves TV crime while shattering gender stereotypes every week, playing Dr. Watson on the Sherlock Holmes show Elementary. In addition to raising her son, Rockwell, who's about to turn one, Liu's also gearing up for another gallery exhibit of her abstract paintings and continuing her work as a UNICEF global ambassador. And because she's either the master multitasker or a Time-Turner thief, she's also found some spare moments to become a shoe designer, teaming up with Bruno Magli to make her first-ever pair of heels.
How's that going? We asked Dr. Watson herself, as she took a break from filming in Manhattan…
As a Queens native, you know shoes are an obsession for New York women. How are your Bruno Magli heels different from what we already have?
Besides being versatile and really great looking, they're very lightweight, so you can carry them in your bag or pack them for a trip easily. They also have a lighter impact on your feet. As a New Yorker, that's the one thing I wanted to ensure. You don't have to wait three weeks to break in these shoes. They're ready to go. And since we're on our feet all the time, we know when someone's wearing new shoes—you see the Band-Aids sticking out of the heel, the wobble if there's a blister. My friends will say, "Sorry, I'm not walking too fast today. My shoes are new." And I'm like, "Yeah, I can tell!" I wanted to do something about that. You shouldn't have to be in pain just because you like wearing a classic pump.
You have some say in Watson's Elementary wardrobe. Will these pumps make an appearance in future episodes?
We haven't put them in her wardrobe yet, but I'm sure we will, because I designed a bunch that are really neutral, and I designed one that's a red color that pops [onscreen]. Watson can't be too flashy when she's working on a big case, because she has to be able to blend into her surroundings. But we have camel-colored shoes and a neutral gray heel, too, so hopefully [the costume team] will pick them up.
Loud heels are really annoying – and they could get Watson into trouble when she's doing an investigation. Do your heels make less noise?
You know what's so funny? If you're an actress, you're constantly told that your heels make noise on the floor. So very early on, you learn how to tread very lightly whenever you're doing your lines. It's a technique most actresses have to master—you exist, but you're also invisible.
You've famously performed your own martial arts stunts in movies like Charlie's Angels and Kill Bill. Did your training for the movies include workouts in heels?
Oh, I learned early on in Charlie's Angels how to run in heels. You know, they have the whole toe run that you do in training—run on the front of your feet, not your heel. And when you're wearing heels, that's exactly how you have to do it. But was I running on a treadmill in pumps before the movies? No. Thankfully not!
Did you get to keep the Birkin Bag you used on the show?
Not only did I not get to keep the Birkin bag, but we didn't even use the real thing during rehearsals. We used a stunt Birkin.
A "stunt Birkin"?
Oh yeah. A fake Birkin. The original one was in a safe, and they wouldn't bring it out for us to use until we were filming the scene. It was a very, very special bag. I think it might have had bodyguards.
That's amazing. Since you played yourself, did you wear your own clothes?
Oh no! I was in Patricia Field, head-to-toe. It was sort of a joke with my friends—that character was me, but definitely not me. She's in an alternate universe where her style is much better than mine. [Laughs.] And in that other dimension—
She gets to keep the Birkin?!
Yes! [Laughs.]
Comic Con is coming back to New York, and then Halloween is a little later. How does it feel seeing girls dressed up as you?
It's always amazing seeing Kill Bill costumes, because you recognize them right away. With Charlie's Angels, that's great because you can do it with your friends, and be the '70s version or our version. But I always wonder, how do people know you're Charlie's Angels unless it's three of you, and you're always together?
Leave no girl behind! But I actually meant, now girls dress up as Watson from Elementary. And they don't have to dress as a boy if they love Sherlock Holmes. They can be Watson and be a girl.
Are they really going to dress up as Watson? That's so cool. I'm so surprised, and so honored, that girls can be part of the Sherlock Holmes narrative now in their own way. You know, it's kind of like how girls can pretend to be a president now, and still dress up as a woman. The job hasn't changed. But they don't have to change, either.
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