INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Lucy Liu Director: ‘Elementary’ Star Talks About Challenges For Women In Hollywood

By Regina Avalos
Published on: 16:08 PST, Mar 10, 2015

Lucy Liu put on her director hat for Elementary this season for the second time, and the actress has shared more about the experience, according to Redding Record Searchlight. The actress also spoke candidly about the challenges women in Hollywood face to get ahead and do more than just stand in front of the camera and look good.

Liu has brought the character of Joan Watson to life on the CBS series. Elementary is now in its third season, and Liu has directed two episodes. Her last effort behind the camera, titled “The Female Of The Species,” aired last month, and she is ready to take on the role of director again on a future episode if the opportunity arises.

Liu has made quite the name for herself as an actress. Food World News reported on Tuesday that actress has a net worth of $16 million, and she makes $130,000 an episode for Elementary.

With the popular Charlie’s Angels film series, co-starring Cameron Diaz, and the huge success of the Kill Bill films, Liu has earned fans, and those fans have followed her to the small screen.

After one season on the TNT series, Southland, Liu moved over to CBS and tackled the role of a woman Watson opposite Jonny Lee Miller’s Sherlock Holmes. The series is a modern day take on the pair set in New York City. The pair has remained friendly but not romantic during the last three seasons, and it will remain that way as long as the series airs.

Liu revealed more about the pair’s relationship in an interview with The View, shared by Spread It.

“We want to stay true to something that’s in the literature, which is that they had a partnership, they had a friendship. Even though it’s a modern-day twist, we don’t want to end up mixing that too much. Plus the fans are already getting used to the fact that a woman [is] playing Watson.”

Liu has faced challenges as a woman in Hollywood, and she has spoken out about those challenges recently as well.

“It’s harder for women in general. You have to ask and ask and ask. You have to break the door down… and come in with a real belief in what you’re doing. Television is a machine. You jump on to this conveyer belt that is going at a very quick speed, and if you can’t keep up you fall off and fall hard. After having directed, you really don’t see things the same way anymore. You approach things with a different eye, as a different person, ultimately.”

The Elementary episode that Liu directed for last month did have a unique set of challenges for the star. She revealed those challenges in an interview with TV Fanatic shared by Design & Trend.

“Oh, there were a lot of challenges with this episode. First of all, we had challenges in the fact that we were taping in the winter. We shot it at the Bronx Zoo, which was fantastic. But we we’re dealing with animals, and zebras don’t really work out in the winter. [They are] warm weather animals. We had to bring them up from the south and then make sure that they were warm and as cute as they are… You can’t go up and pet them, and you have to make sure that they don’t end up maiming the actors with their hooves.”

The actress did admit in an interview shared by CBS News that the crew considered painting ponies for the episode. The cold weather did make filming difficult, but Liu revealed that she learned a lot from her second experience behind the camera.

Lucy shared a number of photos of her on set and working behind the camera on her Twitter account.

Elementary airs on CBS on Thursday nights. What did you think Lucy Liu’s work behind the camera for the series? Are you a fan of her take on Watson?

[Photo by Larry Busacca / Getty Images]

Share this article: Lucy Liu Director: ‘Elementary’ Star Talks About Challenges For Women In Hollywood
More from Inquisitr