Poppy Liu on ‘Dead Ringers,’ their confusing ‘Titanic’ crush, and why Jean Smart is the best
Better Call Saul to iCarly to Hacks. And, over the next few months, they can be seen in Disney+’s fantasy series American Born Chinese and the second season of AppleTV+’s genre-hopping mystery, The Afterparty.But first, they’re absolutely not to be missed in Dead Ringers, Prime Video’s buzzy adaptation of the David Cronenberg thriller.
Liu plays Greta the mysterious assistant to the Mantle twins, Beverly and Elliott, two celebrated gynecologists who both happen to be played by the iconic Rachel Weisz.As Liu jokes, two times the Weisz is enough to make anything a must-watch for queer audiences (“Even if it was Rachel Weisz twice in The Fast And The Furious, it would still be queer”), but they’re especially excited for everyone to go on Dead Ringers‘ dark, “juicy” thrill ride.With the series premiering this weekend, it was the perfect time to invite Liu to the hot seat for our rapid-fire Q&A series, Dishin’ It.
In our conversation, the actor touches on the complicated feelings they had while watching Titanic at five years old, their special surprise from Jean Smart, and why Dead Ringers feels especially relevant to them as a new parent.A post shared by American Cinematheque (@am_cinematheque)Is there a piece of media—whether a movie, TV series, book, album, games, etc…—that you consider a big part of your own coming-out journey, or that has played an important part in exploring your own queerness?
Why does it stand out to you? There are many things that shaped my understanding of my own queerness, but the earliest one was when I watched Titanic when I was like five or six.
