Posted in: Interview, Movies, Sony, Venom | Tagged: Peggy Lu, tom hardy, Venom 3, venom: the last dance

Venom: The Last Dance: Peggy Lu on Tom Hardy & Mrs. Chen's Popularity

Peggy Lu (Venom: The Last Dance) spoke to Bleeding Cool about her journey as Mrs. Chen in Sony and Marvel's Venom franchise, Tom Hardy, and more.

Since her debut in the PBS series Wishbone, Peggy Lu has thrived as a working actress in Hollywood for nearly 30 years. As a Jill-of-all-trades, the character actress is always ready for whatever is needed because one of these days, one of those small parts could turn into an unexpected success, as she discovered as convenience store owner Mrs. Chen in 2018's Venom. She developed a friendship "bond" with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) as he was having difficulty sorting his life after losing his job as a journalist and having an equally tough time when the symbiote Venom bonds with him, committing his first act of heroism at her store from a would-be robber. Since then, Mrs. Chen has been popular in Sony's Spider-Man Marvel universe, bringing her no-nonsense attitude and one-liners to help balance the action of the Venom franchise coming back for 2021's Let There Be Carnage and the upcoming The Last Dance. Lu spoke to Bleeding Cool about her audition and how Hardy went above and beyond for her in their scenes, including her scene as Venom as the symbiote temporarily bonded with her in the Andy Serkis film.

Venom: The Last Dance Star Peggy Lu on Embracing an Opportunity of a Lifetime

Bleeding Cool: How were you involved with the 'Venom' franchise when you were cast in 2018?

I got the audition, went in, and there were a lot of recognizable faces sitting in the waiting room, which was a little intimidating. When I was in the room, the casting director [John Papsidera] gave me three adjustments. A week later, I went back in for the callback, and they wanted me to improvise the ending. I found out I got the job.

Did you imagine Mrs. Chen would be such a popular character in the film, and were you surprised you came back for the second and third films?

I am in awe and shock, and they didn't tell me it would be a trilogy. It's such an awesome surprise. Tell me why you like it.

You're certainly one of the reasons and have some of the best lines in the films. The way the chemistry between Tom and you have on screen. Every time you both are on screen, it's one of the most enjoyable moments of the franchise and the Sony end of the Marvel universe.

Tom makes it easy, which helps so much. He's so great as a scene partner.

Do you have a favorite Mrs. Chen moment, or is that coming in 'The Last Dance?'

From that first moment [with my character], Tom set the tone since 2018. He gets better and better. When I first met him, I got to the set, running lines by myself and talking to a wall. When he arrived, he came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, turned me around, hugged me, and said, "Hi, I'm Tom Hardy, and I'm in your scene." The fact that he introduced himself with his first and last name and then called this my "scene" shows how he treated me like I was him. Since he was so nice, it set the tone.

I was going, "Okay, I can do this. Yeah, man! Let's play!" That was his attitude from day one; then, he wanted to improvise in Chinese. I'm going, "Hell yeah! Let's do it." I never thought of that, and I speak Chinese, and he goes, "Let's do it!" When you work with someone who is so fluid, like water, he'll go wherever it flows and be willing to change directions at any time. How can you ask for more? It was amazing, and so that was day one. That's how we met, and then, every time, he gave me more to work with. He is so amazing!

When you guys film your scenes, do you always interact with his normal voice all the time, or does he shift into the Venom voice in character?

Tom does. He could go back and forth so fast he would not blink. Regular Tom [for Eddie], then Venom Tom, and back; it's amazing. When I had to be Venom for 'Venom 2' [Let There Be Carnage], he was so nice. That was how generous he was because I had to talk like Venom, and he told me he could make it easier for me. He gave me an earpiece and would dictate the lines, and I would repeat him, one sentence at a time. Usually, when I had to wear an earpiece, the person was talking in the earpiece, and we spoke one paragraph at a time, which was harder because there were so many sentences in one paragraph. [Tom] was so thoughtful, and it never crossed my mind to go one sentence at a time, so I didn't have to worry about having to sound like him for paragraphs at a time. I was in awe that he made it so easy. I would show up, do my homework, go up and down, take care of the rest, and go by moment by moment. Tom's a generous actor and human being.

Written and directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom: The Last Dance, which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Alanna Ubach, and Stephen Graham, is exclusively in theaters.

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