[Written Interview] 'Street Fighter' ④ Kalina Liang on playing Chun-Li: “Everything you see in the film is my real body.”

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▶ 〈Street Fighter〉 continues from the interview with Andrew Koji, who plays Ryu.

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Chun-Li is such an iconic character in Street Fighter. What did Chun-Li mean to you when you were growing up?

I grew up playing Street Fighter at arcades! I grew up in Beijing, and there was an arcade near our home. My grandmother would take me there after school or after ballet class. I loved the game so much that I still play it. I remember always choosing Chun-Li back then, too. I would think, “Yes! Chun-Li is a Chinese female character, and her moves are so cool!” I especially loved her victory pose, when she makes a V sign after winning. It’s so cute. I’ve been a huge Chun-Li fan since I was a kid. To have the opportunity to play her myself in such an incredible live-action film and take on such an amazing role still feels like a dream. I’m genuinely honored just to be able to play Chun-Li.

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What was the process like before you landed the role you had dreamed of playing?

“First, I filmed a self-tape and sent it in, then auditioned. The day I got the call saying I’d been cast was the best day of my life. I was at a park near my home. I had just finished an exercise class and was reading a book when director Kitao Sakurai called me personally. Usually, when you get a role, you hear through your agent. The agent often knows before you do! But the director called me directly. We had gotten fairly close during the audition process. He’s a very easygoing, relaxed person. So when I answered and he said, ‘Hi, this is Kitao,’ I said, ‘I know! I saved your number. What’s up?’ But he said just one thing: ‘You got the part. Let’s work together!’ I completely lost it. I was screaming and jumping up and down. Since I was doing it alone, I must have looked completely crazy. I remember everyone at the park looking at me with concern. So I gave them a big thumbs-up and shouted, ‘I’m OK! I’m OK!’ Then I called my agents. For once, I wanted to be the one to tell them the good news first.

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Director Kitao Sakurai has said he wanted to delve deeply into the psychology of Street Fighter’s signature characters. What is going on inside Chun-Li?

We wanted to stay as faithful as possible to Chun-Li’s established story while finding new sides of her that we hadn’t yet seen in the games or animation. The most important question was, “What makes Chun-Li human?” Director Kitao Sakurai was deeply involved in that process and worked with me very actively.

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He did an amazing job of finding humor and emotion in every character throughout the film.

Chun-Li is driven by revenge. As a result, she’s an extremely angry person. It’s hard to predict what side of her will emerge at any given moment, and she has a very dark side. But I also thought, “She has no friends, she’s incredibly lonely and she has no family. How is she coping with all of this?” So I looked for the ways Chun-Li copes in her own way. Drinking is one of them. I think those details make her a more human character. You can’t go through all of this and remain unaffected. Chun-Li needed a way to release her emotions. The film also shows moments when cracks appear in her normally tough exterior. Chun-Li is usually a very certain person who thinks, “OK, I have to do this, then I have to do that. And this is exactly how I’ll do it.” But sometimes everything she has been through comes crashing down on her all at once. The important question for Chun-Li is, “Will I really be happy once I finish this revenge?” She believes her life will be fine once she completes this mission. But maybe she’s throwing herself into revenge to avoid facing her true feelings. Chun-Li undergoes some meaningful changes over the course of the film. She doesn’t expect to make friends or have anyone help her. She’s certainly not the kind of person who asks for help first. But Ken Masters, Ryu and Chun-Li share the same goal, so they end up working together somehow. That’s a beautiful thing for Chun-Li. I’m curious to see how she continues to change.

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You observed Ken Masters and Ryu’s relationship up close. How would you describe it?

To be completely honest, the relationship between Ken Masters and Ryu in the film is exactly like the real-life relationship between Noah and Andrew! The three of us spent about a month and a half at the filming location preparing for the movie. That meant they were the only people I spent time with during that period. Sometimes the three of us would be in the sauna together after training. I’d sit there watching them and think, “Oh my God, they’re exactly like their characters in real life!” Noah is really playful and fun to be around. He loves joking around and brings out Andrew’s playful side. When I first met Andrew, I thought, “Wow, he’s a really serious person.” But as time passed, he started opening up, and I realized he was actually incredibly funny. The way they are also fits their characters in the film perfectly. Ryu is very serious and focused only on his work as he pursues his own goal. Ken Masters brings out the fun, playful side of Ryu.

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The three of you trained together in Sydney while preparing for the film. What was it like working out together? Did you compete with one another?

We did, but I wasn’t competing with the two of them! I was working my lower body while they were training their arms. It was still fun. Noah and Andrew Koji worked out together a lot. I often trained alone, but all three of us worked out in the same space. And after training, we always went out to eat together. We ate a lot of steak. Every day, the only thing that changed was how we ate the meat. So it was very fortunate that we filmed in Australia. It has the beautiful beaches and cliffs featured in the film, but more than anything, the steaks are delicious. Of course, we didn’t eat steak every time. We also had a lot of Korean and Japanese barbecue, hot pot, and Mediterranean food at restaurants with plenty of grilled dishes. And we couldn’t leave out the sauna. Every day after working out, all three of us would say, “OK, let’s go to the sauna!” But even in the sauna, Noah and Andrew Koji kept arguing. Of course, they were joking. They were both having so much fun that sometimes I had to say, “You two, calm down.” I often felt like I had become their older sister, even though I’m actually younger than both of them. It was really fun, and the three of us became very close. We didn’t know anyone else there, so we did everything together. One day, I took Andrew Koji to an arcade. I said, “I don’t care, you’re coming with me,” and took him along to play a ton of games. He had a great time, too. Unfortunately, that arcade didn’t have Street Fighter.

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You said you focused on building your lower body during training. Was that also why the film keeps joking about Chun-Li’s thighs?

When you think of Chun-Li, you think of her legs first. Her legs are an essential part of the character. Chun-Li and her legs are a package deal. The fans feel the same way. Everyone has an image of what Chun-Li should look like, especially when it comes to her legs. I completely understand that. All of Chun-Li’s moves use her legs, and literally all of her power comes from them. Chun-Li has such a distinctive physique in the games that I felt some pressure preparing for the role. After I was cast, I had only a couple of months to work out, which isn’t a long time. So I thought, “From now until I stand in front of the camera, I’m going to do everything I can to change my body as much as possible.” Realistically, that was all I could do. I didn’t want to pad my body or anything like that. Everything you see in the film is my real body. And I have no regrets at all. I did everything I could. I also started weight training for the first time while preparing for the role, and my body changed a lot. I’m still doing it now. I really like it. I completely changed my diet while preparing for the film. When I was seriously trying to build muscle, I ate at least 12 eggs a day and consumed about 4,000 calories, eating a meal every two hours. It was really intense! Still, I’m happy with how I look in the film. But honestly, no one could probably move as quickly as Chun-Li does in the game. It’s physically impossible. Those movements simply don’t obey the laws of physics in the real world!

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You said you liked seeing yourself transformed into Chun-Li. As someone who has always been a fan of the character, how did it feel to arrive on set in costume on the first day of filming?

Costume designer Kim Barrett created a beautiful Chun-Li costume. I can’t put into words how I felt when I first put it on! Of course, it took quite a long time to complete. I tried on several prototypes at first, and in the end, Chun-Li’s costume took the longest to finish. Kim Barrett had to personally find a very particular fabric the costume required in another city in Australia. Kim told me, “I want to make a costume that feels comfortable. It should make you feel confident, and you should be able to move freely and fight in it.” I had to wear it for almost the entire film. But when I saw the finished costume, it was even more incredible than I had imagined. First, I put on a full-body bodysuit, then the dress top, and then the front of the skirt had to be attached separately at the waist. Finally, a belt held everything together. It was a very complicated costume, but it was extremely comfortable and felt great to wear. It also looked fantastic on my body when I moved. And you can probably imagine how much I moved in the film! I remember the day I first put on the costume with my hair and makeup completely finished. I looked in the mirror and thought, “No way ... is that really me?” Then I went out onto the set just like that. It felt like a dream.

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Which of Chun-Li’s moves is your favorite, and why?

Probably the Spinning Bird Kick. It’s not easy to pull off. That makes it incredibly satisfying when you land it properly. I also like the Hundred Lightning Kicks. Those two moves were probably the most fun to perform on set. There was a scene where I used the Hundred Lightning Kicks to drive an opponent against a wall, and I had to keep unleashing kicks. Again and again and again without stopping. That scene was really fun. But honestly, I love all of Chun-Li’s moves. She’s such a cool character. I’m still a huge Chun-Li fan, and I still can’t believe I’m playing her in a movie!

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You’re the fourth actor to play Chun-Li in a live-action production. Did you watch the previous actors who played her while preparing for this role?

No. I wanted to show my own version of Chun-Li in this film. I also didn’t want other actors’ performances in my head. I only watched the animation and played the games. I also read all the comics. When I studied Chun-Li, I immersed myself in the animated world and focused on how she was portrayed there. I think one reason this 〈Street Fighter〉 works so well is that director Kitao Sakurai and the producers fully embraced the world of Street Fighter, including its exaggerated and absurd qualities. They didn’t try to make it more realistic or hide those qualities. They brought the world of Street Fighter straight into live action. That allowed the director to find genuine emotion and humor within it. But the film isn’t merely lighthearted. The director also understood the sincerity and essence of each character — what makes that character who they are. Another reason the film works is that we didn’t try to turn Street Fighter into something else. We dove in headfirst and embraced everything that makes Street Fighter what it is. It’s an absurd world full of absurd characters, and those characters are also incredibly good at fighting. What more could you ask for? I hope audiences can feel how much love we put into this project. And I hope they have as much fun watching the film as we had making it. It was an absolutely wild, entertaining experience.

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One of the biggest departures from the familiar game design is the look of the notorious villain Vega. David Dastmalchian gives a truly striking performance in the film. Why do you think the casting works so well?

David captured Vega’s distinctive energy perfectly! Whenever Director Kitao Sakurai and I discussed David’s performance, the answer was obvious: “There’s no other choice. He’s the only one.” I’m sure audiences will agree when they see the film. Director Kitao is someone who makes very meticulous, intelligent decisions, and I think casting David Dastmalchian as Vega was one of them. When I first saw David in Vega’s costume on set, I thought, “Yes, this is exactly right.” When we acted together, he made me feel exactly what Vega would make Chun-Li feel. He was frightening, but David also brought a manic quality and razor-sharp tension to the character. As I got to know David personally, I learned that he’s incredibly distinctive and a huge comics fan. He’s a wonderful person. But when he plays Vega, he’s frighteningly intense and truly excellent.

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▶ 〈Street Fighter〉 continues with the interview with Andrew Schultz, who plays Hibiki Dan.