What you need to know
Simu Liu didn’t walk away from filming a stunt for Peacock’s new series The Copenhagen Test unscathed.
The 36-year-old Shang-Chi star revealed to PEOPLE that he participated in his own stunts for the new spy thriller series. According to the synopsis, he plays a Chinese-American intelligence analyst “caught between a shadowy agency and an unknown hacker.”
“I got kicked in the face, yes. Many, many times,” Liu said with a laugh.
The actor went on to say that although the project’s “phenomenal” stunt coordinators, James and Chris Mark, strive to make the set as “safe” as possible, there is always some “risk” when it comes to stunt work.
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“When you’re doing a fight scene, or you’re running full speed down a hallway and you have to blow three people away, or whatever it is, something is going to happen. Things are going to go wrong,” he explained.
“What I remember is… getting kicked in the face, having things thrown at me… things like that[on set],” he added.
He explained that while some actors avoid doing their own stunts to prevent injury, “that’s not inherently bad,” it can create challenges in post-production because editors are restricted to certain angles and some shots with stuntmen “just don’t sell.”
Conversely, the Barbie Doll actor said that when an actor performs their own stunts, it “gives the editor endless options as to where and when to cut.” He admitted that he is also one of those who is trying his hand at action works.
“Here’s the thing, and maybe to my own detriment, I’m way too competitive with guys. And since I was four years old, if I see someone doing something, I think I can do it just as well or better,” he said. “I’m always like, ‘Great. Here, put me in there. I want to be in there.'”
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He said his Copenhagen Test co-star Melissa Barrera had similar thoughts, which is why they “got on so well”.
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“I remember her being like, ‘Again, again, again,’ impressing the entire stunt team and insisting on being the one doing it,” he recalled. “And that’s just one of the things I love most about her.”
The series follows the character of Alexander, played by Liu, whose “brain has been hacked, giving him access to everything he sees and hears,” according to the synopsis. Despite this predicament, “he has to maintain his performance 24/7 to take responsibility and prove where his loyalties lie.”
The Copenhagen Test will be broadcast for the first time on Peacock on December 27th.
