Toronto actor Simu Liu was back in town to shoot his latest series. Spy thriller The Copenhagen Test, out now on Peacock, explores trust, identity, a rather nefarious look at technology through a hacked intelligence analyst.
Liu sat down with Streets of Toronto for this feature interview:
What do you hope audiences take away from ‘The Copenhagen Test’?
Maybe put your phones down. Don’t give Facebook all your information. Be careful. Be careful with everything you see. In this day and age, even things you read or videos you watch — anything can be altered and manipulated. So yeah — just be careful.
Your character’s friend or mentor on the show is a chef. Could you name-drop a few of your favorite Toronto restaurants?
PAI is definitely up there — I love PAI. I love Akin. My God, I’m blanking on so many. Aburi Hana in Yorkville — amazing, incredible sushi, just on the Michelin star list recently too, which is so awesome. I really feel like Toronto is evolving really rapidly from a food standpoint and becoming this really vibrant and exciting food city. Super, super cool.
What was the biggest challenge for you as an actor?
You know, the fight scenes, the action, whatever — I feel like that’s almost bread-and-butter, second nature to me at this point. But knowing that this character was going to have to walk this impossible tightrope, where he’s constantly performing for this kind of unseen enemy through his eyes and through his ears, it was a very unique acting assignment.
What do you think makes this series different from other spy thrillers, like the Jason Bourne films?
I think, growing up, not really seeing people who look like me portrayed on screen in a heroic way — here, you’re going to see an action hero you’ve never really seen before. It feels like a fresh take. Alexander is Chinese American, and when we meet him, he’s really desperate to prove himself — almost willing to do anything to prove his worth and what he’s capable of, and also to be accepted.
So how does the character develop?
Over the course of the show, what emerges is this more self-assured moral compass. He decides, “I’m not going to do what other people want me to do. I’m going to do what I want to do,” because he trusts what he believes is right and wrong. Just watching that compelling story wrapped in a really cool sci-fi premise is amazing. And I haven’t even mentioned Melissa Pereira, but that’s another huge part of what makes the show special.
And it was shot here?
Yes, I’m really proud that we shot the show in Toronto and shared a lot of crew members from a show I did back in the day. It was just a really cool full-circle moment for me to go back home.
Tell me about your chemistry with Melissa Pereira.
What I love most about her is that she’s not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get into it. A lot of actors carry different reputations around them. Some do not want to touch a stunt. Some are very clear about what they will and won’t do physically. Michelle is a very physical role, and it would have been really challenging if we’d had an actress who didn’t want to participate in the fights. Melissa just threw herself into the training process, became such a good fighter, had that competitive energy — she came to set every day wanting to do it better. I can’t say enough good things about her as an artist, performer, and human.
