How Lucy Liu had to unlearn the 'racial slurs' of her childhood
- - How Lucy Liu had to unlearn the 'racial slurs' of her childhood
Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAYDecember 6, 2025 at 8:01 AM
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NEW YORK – As Lucy Liu worked to portray Irene, an immigrant mother who goes to extreme lengths to protect her troubled son in the drama "Rosemead" (limited theatrical release in New York on Dec. 5), she didn't think of her own son, Rockwell, 10. Instead, she found the film's "greatest gift" was the ability to see her own parents in a new light.
"I thought about myself as a child, watching my parents and understanding that there was so much I didn't receive because they were so unable to express themselves in a fluent way," Liu, 57, tells USA TODAY of her mother and father. Liu's parents are Chinese; the actress was born and raised in Queens. Reflecting on her upbringing, Liu, who has fought for more diversity in Hollywood, says that she also "had to unlearn not just behavior, but that cultural system of just keep taking the condescension, the racial slurs.
"I really saw so much about my parents through Irene more than I ever have in my life because it really gave me a greater vessel for compassion for them," she continues. "The interiority of this character hasn't left me. I want to hold it and I want to keep it with grace, and I think it's helped me also see them differently and it's going to help me see my son differently."
Lucy Liu explains how 'Rosemead' role differs from past films
"Rosemead," set in the Southern California city, is inspired by a Los Angeles Times article about an immigrant mother who was terminally ill while caring for her schizophrenic son. The mother feared that without her care, her son would harm others. So she took matters into her own hands before she succumbed to cancer.
No spoilers, but when Liu first read the story, she was "terrified" that this actually happened. She also couldn't believe this took place only 10 years ago.
It took nearly 8 years, but "Rosemead" starring Lucy Liu is out in the world. After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, the movie hits theaters in New York and Los Angeles.
"Since then with social media, with the pandemic, it's only kind of accelerated the pressure for young kids and teenagers," she says, noting because people are conscious with how they present themselves, they're afraid to be vulnerable. Liu believes that vulnerability is important "so that there's not a stigma or a shame that we have to kind of hide behind closed doors."
Liu, whose iconic career has been defined by strong and witty characters in projects ranging from "Ally McBeal" to "Charlie's Angels," says she found Irene's strength through vulnerability.
"She had such an intense courage and I think that love and that will to live for her son really helps to straddle anything else that's happening to her body," Liu says of the cancer-stricken Irene. "I don't want her legacy to be a headline. I want it to be something that's more humanized. And so I really saw it from a different angle to show how she felt like she had run out of options."
(From left) Lawrence Shou as Joe and Lucy Liu as Irene in the film "Rosemead."Lucy Liu is receiving Oscar buzz. She 'doesn't know what to do with it'
"Rosemead" premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. Liu's performance has earned her awards at film festivals in Philadelphia, Miami, Denver and Belfast. Now, there's Oscar buzz surrounding the actress.
"My heart is bursting with pride," she says of the recognition. "This movie was made to be shared and however we can do it, to whatever extent we can do that, then incredible."
Liu also serves as a producer on "Rosemead," a film that took almost 8 years to make. For the actress, the film serves as a beacon of representation not just for its casting, but the story it tells of the communication barriers that immigrants face in the healthcare system.
Lucy Liu plays Irene, a cancer-stricken mother who goes to an extreme length to protect her mentally ill son in the film "Rosemead."
"I think there's an undercurrent of pain in watching the deficit of the healthcare system and how it failed (Irene) in that way," she says. "As an audience member, you can see that; you wish that it could have been different."
As Liu moves into the new year, her experience on "Rosemead" is shaping which projects she'll tackle next. But one constant will remain: The actress will continue to speak and act on causes that move her.
"We are in the stage where art is protest," she says. "The people in the world, we're not a risk. If diversity is seen as a negative or as a threat, then we are going to be living in a very diluted world. And that's not something that I think anyone wants to be in."
When it comes to representation, specifically in film, Liu believes her "work is the way forward."
"I don't think anyone can tell anyone else what to do and what not to do," she explains. "I know that I've learned so much from other people's parenting or living or composting or cooking or all those small things.
"But everything is different and you don't know what's going on behind closed doors. And what I hope this movie gives other people when they see it is that there is something that we might not know. We have to give that space to other people to know that we shouldn't judge them. We should just wait and find out or ask the questions."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lucy Liu explains the 'undercurrent of pain' in her role in 'Rosemead'
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