AfterspendingtimewithLiuBordizzo,yougettheimpression
she’snotthekindtowastetimewithindecision,whichmayhave
alottodowithalifetimeoftrainingintaekwondo.“Istarted
whenI waseightorninebecausemyparentswantedmetodo
somethingphysicalandI wantedtodosomethingtough.I wanted
tolearntodefendmyself...Therewereareasaroundmethatfelt
unsafeandI wasalwaysafierylittlegirl.I thinkI’mlesssonow.
I don’tknowwhereallthatcamefrom.I wasjustdeterminedto
provethatI wasasstrongastheboys.Andit wasgreattohave
a placetorelievestress.Withallthatangstwhenyou’regrowing
up,I hada healthyplacewhereI couldreleaseallofit.”
Inaworldwherewomenaretaughtfromayoungagetobe
niceandpolite,LiuBordizzosaystherearesomanyelementsof
oursocietythatdirectlyorindirectlyeducateustobelesserthan.
“Youcanbethisbutnottoomuch.Youcanbesuccessfulbutnot
toomuch.There’saceiling.AndI thinkphysicallygoingthrough
themotionsofbeingabad-ass–withstufflikemartialarts–it
affectsyourmentalstate.Especiallyforfemales...You’remore
confidentandyou’relesswillingtotakeshitfrompeople.”
Tothepassingcommentthat thereasonI nevermastered
karatewasdowntohavingpickedit uptoolate,LiuBordizzo
snapsback:“Nah,thatdoesn’texist!I’mabouttostartdancing
forthefirsttimeinmylife.”Turnsoutshe’sdecidingbetweenthe
wildlydifferentgenresofhip-hopand R’n’B, or pole dancing.
“I’vealwayswantedtodopole
dancing because it’s a good
workoutandit’sfun.Butpeople
whodoit havebruisesallover
theirbodies– it’ssointensive.So,
I’mnotsureif I’mdownforthat.
I mightjustdohip-hopandR’n’B
to beginwith.”But shesaysthe
problemisshedoesn’thave the
“gangstervibe.I looklikeastick
whenI’mtryingtobeloose.I’mso
gangly– I needtowearoversized
sweatpantsanda hoodie!”
Liu Bordizzo’s tomboy style
isn’t an accident. Working in
a“patriarchalandmisogynistic”industrysinceshewas 19 has
causedhertoputupherdefencesearlyinordertomakeit about
theworkandnothersexuality.“MaleproducersthatI’mnow
veryclosewithhavetoldmethatwhenI firstmetthemit wasjust
thisairof‘Don’tfuckwithme’fromtheget-go,”shesays.Butshe’s
optimistictheconversationresultingfromthe#MeToomovement
lendsitselftomorewomenbeinghired,whichhelpstheproblem.
“All ittakes is onejoke tobemade and yousuddenly feel
uncomfortablewiththewholedynamicofyoubeingonsetwith
90 men and four women, you know?” She describes her
experiencefilmingTheSocietyasthemostpositiveshe’shad.
“Outofthe 10 directors,sixorsevenwerewomen.AndI had
almost all of my intimacy scenes with female directors. There was
a femaleproducer,femalewriter– justhavingthatenergyonset,
it’scomforting.Netflixgaveusanintimacymeetingbeforeevery
singletimewehadanythingintimate,evenif it wasvery,very
mild.Andwewoulddiscussexactlywhatwewouldbeokay
doing.Andwhatwewouldbedoing,shotbyshot.Youjustfeelso
comfortabledoingthesceneafterthat.Youfeelverysupported.”
Whethersheseesherselfthiswayornot,LiuBordizzoisone
ofanewwaveofactorscontributingtothechangingfaceof
Hollywood.BorntoaChinesemotherandItalianfatherand
growingupAustralia,“Ididn’tevenknowhowI wasperceived
untilI startedacting.WhenI grewupI waslike,‘I’mlikeeveryone
elseinAustralia’– I didn’tthinkaboutit toomuch.I lovemyfriends
andI hadagroupthatwasasmulticulturalasit gets.Butwhen
I startedactingI hadthisweirdthingwhereI waslike,‘Ohmy
God,theworldlooksatmeandjustseesmeasAsian.Theydon’t
knowI’m Australian.They don’t know mydad’s Italian. They
don’tknowwhatareaofAsia.TheyjustlookatmeandseeAsian.’”
LiuBordizzosaysthetypecastinghasimproved,admittingshe
doesn’tthinkshewouldevenbe“here”if it werefiveyearsago.
“I’mnotgoingtospeakforotherpeopleofcolourbecauseI don’t
knowenoughabouttheirspecificlane...butI thinkmylanehas
seenadvances.ToAllTheBoysI’veLovedBeforewashugefor
Asiansallovertheworld.AndthenobviouslyCrazyRichAsians...
We’ve proventhatnotonlyis therea pushformorediversestories
tobetoldbecauseit’stherightthingtodo,but
thatthey’refinanciallysuccessful,too.Because
peopleinHollywooddon’tcaresometimeswhat’s
therightthingtodo,theyjustneedtoknowit will
earnthemmoney.Andwe’veprovenaudiences
dowanttoseemoreandhearmorevariety.”
AtthesuggestionthatLiuBordizzoisarole
model foractresses coming upafter her,she
hesitates.She’sgladtobe,butwouldratherlet
her career be the statement. “Sometimes, as
opposed totalking aboutwhat the problems
are,I’mlike,‘Herearetheresultsofhardwork
andjustprovingpeoplewrong.’I neverthought
I wouldbeinthisposition.ButI dofeelgood
abouta lotofyoungAsianwomenandmen,and
notjustyoung,everyone,reachingouttome,justsayingthey
appreciatethatI havea careerandthatmyfaceis outthere.”
Fornow,LiuBordizzoishappytolivethesemi-normallifeof
a 24-year-oldresidingina newcitywithouttheworriesofpacking
andunpacking,andmakinghernextflight.Asidefromfilmingseason
twoofTheSociety, she’sintalkstowriteshortfilmswithafriend.
“There’salwaysstuffhappening–that’sthepointofbeinginLA!”
Sois it safetosayshe’smovedonfromthedaysofforgettinglines
inhigh-schoolplays?“I still[getnervous]whenI’minfrontofa group
ofpeople. Lessso now.Obviously, because thisismy career.
There’ssomethingdifferentaboutfilm.OnedayI mighttrytheatre,
butrightnowI’mcomfortableintheframeworkoffilmwhere it’s not
about you. You’re a cog in the wheel.” Watch this cog.E131
“M ARTIAL ARTS
AFFECTS YOUR
M E N TA L STAT E.
YOU’RE LESS
WILLING TO
TA K E S H I T
FROM PEOPLE”
COVER STORY