Hu sinks claws into X-Men role

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kelly Hu plays Lady Deathstrike in "X2: X-Men United." In her mutant form, she has no need for scissors. Twentieth Century Fox

Q. Craig Kilborn loves you, doesn't he?

A. I've been on his show seven times. I think I'm his No. 1 guest, or close to it.

Q. How'd you do on "5 Questions?"

A. I got them all! The first one was about Hawai'i, so I got that one easily. The second one was about food that tastes better the second day. I'm from Hawai'i, right, so I said "Spam." I actually got that one wrong, but he was nice and he gave me another chance.

Q. So what's the skinny on Lady Deathstrike?

A. My human form is Yuriko Oyama, and she's the personal assistant to Brian Cox, who's Stryker. My mutant form is very much like Wolverine. I've got the adamantium skeleton and the claws. We have an amazing fight scene.

Q. You do a lot of your own stunts ...

A. Yeah, I try to do as much as I can. The way the industry is these days, I feel like I have to. Someone can just get the DVD and hit pause and see if you really did that move or not. The fight scenes are highly choreographed. It's so amazing because you're dealing with a fantasy world, so you aren't restricted by what humans can do. You can leap 50 feet in the air, do helicopter kicks.

Q. Did you have to do any special training for the film?

A. I did some training for the wire work. I always try to keep fit (Hu is a black belt in karate), but nothing prepares you for wire work. It's not like you can just go out in the back yard and practice. It takes a team to get everything ready. I started working with the wires two months before we started shooting. It's really, really difficult just doing simple things like a somersault without spinning or falling over.

Q. You were a villainess in "Cradle 2 the Grave," and now again in "X2." Do you enjoy playing the baddie?

A. I do! Bad girls have more fun. It's fun getting to beat up all of the boys. The only bad thing is you don't win. The bad guys never get to win.

Q. So what was it like working with (director) Bryan Singer?

A. He's the most amazing, talented director. I think he's sort of proven himself. After he did "The Usual Suspects," everybody thought of him as this amazing new guy. With "The X-Men," he showed a different side to his talent. He showed that he could succeed in a different genre. He's so committed to working with a quality script, with quality characters. This isn't just an action film or a comic film, it's really about characters and a strong story line.

Q. You've done a lot of TV work ("The Bold and the Beautiful," "Nash Bridges," "Martial Law"). Are you interested in doing TV again, or would you rather concentrate on film?

A. I would love to do more films. I think I've gotten really spoiled. There's sort of an order when you work in TV. Soaps are kind of the work that nobody wants to do. It's low on the totem pole because everything is so quick and there's so much work. You do a one-hour show every day. You read 30 to 50 pages of bad dialogue every day. And it's bad because there's not time for rewrites. On a TV series, you do one show every seven days, so there's that much more time. But it's still a tight schedule and a small budget. With films, you do an hour-and-a-half or two-hour movie in five or six months, and you have an enormous budget. You're working with specially made costumes and props, in specially scouted locations. And you have the time and the means to get everything just right.

Q. It's been a relatively long road for you to get the kind of jobs you're getting now. Do you feel that's an advantage?

A. It is. I've paid my dues. I think the advantages are mostly personal. Doing commercials and soaps and TV makes me appreciate the film world a lot more. It's not like if I were 20 years old arriving in Hollywood and having a big hit movie. I don't think I would be able to appreciate it, and I don't think I would know enough to keep it going.

Q. Get back to Hawai'i very often?

A. I try to. All of my family is there, so I try to make it back as often as I can. A lot of my friends have kids now. I don't have any of my own yet, but I love being an auntie!