Liu Haocun moves like someone who spent years counting&nbsp;beats in front of a mirror. Not in any obvious manner — no&nbsp;dance posture or theatrical moves — but in the way she shifts&nbsp;her weight between questions or punctuates each answer&nbsp;with a gentle gesture. It could be because she was trained in&nbsp;traditional dance at Beijing Dance Academy in Jilin, long&nbsp;before Zhang Yimou ever pointed a camera at her.
She builds characters from the outside in. You see it in her&nbsp;recent work: the coiled, tense energy of Vanishing Point then&nbsp;the looser, even reckless physicality she brought to playing&nbsp;a Qin opera prodigy in The Lead. Now at 26, she moves&nbsp;between cinema and TV with ease — and she’ll tell you that&nbsp;there’s not much difference. “It’s all just… finding the real&nbsp;feeling and staying there,” she stated once, as though it was so&nbsp;simple. The fact is, it kind of is that simple for her. She never&nbsp;seems interested in constructing an aura around herself. She&nbsp;appears uninterested in cultivating the kind of mystique that&nbsp;often surrounds young stars. She just... goes for it.
When she’s not working, Liu is studying or living or doing&nbsp;whatever a woman her age does. In a business that punishes you&nbsp;for pulling away from the stream, her refusal to manufacture intrigue may be the smartest of all.

Do you remember what it felt like when life began to change&nbsp;around you after your first major screen moment with Zhang&nbsp;Yimou’s One Second?
One Second was my first film, and I feel incredibly&nbsp;honoured to have had the opportunity to be part of director&nbsp;Zhang Yimou’s film and work alongside such respected actors&nbsp;as Zhang Yi and Fan Wei. Before its release, the film was&nbsp;selected for the main competition of the Berlin International&nbsp;Film Festival, and after its release, it also received a lot of love&nbsp;from audiences both in China and overseas. For me, it was a&nbsp;happy and meaningful experience. I’m very grateful that the&nbsp;story we created together was embraced and supported by so&nbsp;many people.

People often say that your performances are delicate but how&nbsp;would you describe your acting style?
I usually start by reading the script and the original novel&nbsp;and learning about the real-life person or inspiration behind&nbsp;the character. Through that process, I can understand the&nbsp;character’s personality, traits, and values. So, when I bring the&nbsp;character to life, part of it comes from the character itself.
I also spend time experiencing the character’s world and&nbsp;learning the skills related to the role before filming begins. For&nbsp;example, for the TV series The Lead, I joined the production&nbsp;team over two months before filming to train in Qin opera,&nbsp;a traditional Chinese art form, and continued practising&nbsp;throughout the six-month shoot. Through these preparations,&nbsp;I’m able to bring genuine emotions into my performance,&nbsp;combining my own experiences and cultural understanding to&nbsp;tell Chinese stories from the perspective of a young actor.

In The Lead, you played a woman whose life was shaped by&nbsp;ambition and sacrifice. What part of her stayed with you after&nbsp;filming ended?
What stayed with me the most is Yi Qin’e’s calm and&nbsp;graceful spirit. Regardless of the challenges she encounters,&nbsp;she consistently maintains her pure heart and relentlessly&nbsp;pursues her passions, employing simplicity to navigate the&nbsp;complexities of the world.&nbsp;
She carries a strong belief in preserving and passing on the art of Qino. From accepting the fate given to her to taking control of her own destiny, she breaks through the darkness with determination. Qin opera is not only a choice she makes for her life but also her way of expressing her resilience and reflecting on the journey she has taken. Her persistence often moved me,&nbsp;and her courage to never bow down to difficulties inspired me.

How did it feel to be in a film that revolves around Qin opera and&nbsp;traditional performance?
Through the process of performing, I gradually began to&nbsp;truly understand the emotions of the characters in the opera.&nbsp;When I performed the opera scenes within the drama, the&nbsp;emotions expressed through my singing and body movements&nbsp;felt as though they naturally originated from within me. It was&nbsp;a moment when I felt completely connected with the character, reaching a state where the actor and the role became one.

I guess we can say that Vanishing Point introduced you to the&nbsp;suspense genre. What were the things that you need to pay special&nbsp;attention to?
Yutong is a character who expresses herself more through&nbsp;actions rather than words. We often find her inner world&nbsp;through her eyes, expressions, and body language. Therefore,&nbsp;I paid close attention to the small details in my performance&nbsp;to reveal the emotional changes within her. I wanted to really&nbsp;feel and understand the character and bring her to life from the heart.

What made you say yes to be part of the film?
I’ve always admired director Cheng Weihao’s work, so I feel&nbsp;very honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with&nbsp;him. What attracted me to this story is its depth, especiallythe positive strength that Lin Yutong represents as a young&nbsp;woman. Through this vivid and relatable character, I hope&nbsp;to encourage more people to protect themselves, pay closer&nbsp;attention to those around them, and cherish the warmth and&nbsp;kindness in life.

You seem to have taken up more emotionally mature roles along your career. Are you choosing parts that challenge not just yourself, but also how the audiences see you?
I think one of the greatest joys for an actor is the opportunity to encounter different characters and discover different sides of yourself through them. So, I don’t intentionally limit myselfwhen it comes to the types of films or roles I take on. If given the opportunity, I hope to explore more diverse genres, continue expanding my boundaries as an actor, and allow audiences to see more sides of me.

When you read a script, what usually tells you that it is worth&nbsp;your time?
I usually start by reading the script once, and the feeling I&nbsp;get after that first read is very important. It’s like watching a&nbsp;film — when a story attracts us, we naturally want to know&nbsp;more. The same goes for reading a script. When I can look at&nbsp;the story from an audience’s perspective, become interested in&nbsp;the characters, and feel connected to them, I’ll have the desire to step into that world and experience it myself.

Having worked with major directors and actors early in your&nbsp;career, what is the one lesson that still gives your guidance?
“A journey of a hundred miles is only halfway complete&nbsp;when you have travelled ninety miles.” This saying has always&nbsp;reminded me during the process of creating a character that&nbsp;the closer you get to the end, the more important it is to stay&nbsp;committed and see it through. Every stage of the journey&nbsp;matters, and I need to continue putting my heart into fully bringing the character to life.

Does getting recognised internationally affect the way you think about performance?
I believe that the art of cinema transcends borders. Regardless&nbsp;of the story’s origin, authentic emotions are always central to&nbsp;connecting with audiences worldwide. Authentic characters&nbsp;and heartfelt performances always build a film that can cross&nbsp;cultural boundaries and resonate with viewers internationally.
Every country has its own unique cinematic language and creative style. I often watch outstanding films from around the world, study different approaches to performance, and&nbsp;explore the more profound messages behind different stories.&nbsp;This process helps me broaden my perspective, enrich my inner&nbsp;world, and prepare myself to take on more diverse roles.
Participating in international film festivals and witnessing Chinese stories being embraced by audiences overseas has given me a deeper sense of responsibility and pride as a young Chinese actor. It also motivates me to continue creating meaningful characters and bring stories about China and the experiences of Chinese youth to a wider stage. For me, taking the time to refine my craft and touching audiences through universal emotions is one of the most meaningful ways for a young actor to express themselves.
I believe there is no need to deliberately cater to others - sincerity is always the best approach. Through delicate and authentic performances, I hope to convey the spirit and values at the heart of Chinese culture. At the same time, I will continue to learn, engage in international exchanges, and draw inspiration from different creative perspectives around the world. By combining these influences with my own cultural roots. Meanwhile, I will also tell heartfelt and powerful Chinese stories from the perspective of a young actress.

Is there something that you hope you to try which you couldn’t&nbsp;before?
I may explore some new sports that I haven’t experienced before in my life.

Cover Credits:
Photography&nbsp;Chee Wei Creative Direction &amp; Styling&nbsp;Colin Sim Word John Ng Makeup Chun Nan&nbsp;NAN BEAUTY Hair Li Wen NAN BEAUTY Production Grey Chin&nbsp; Fashion Coordination Shahira Baharin (@bycolinofficial) All clothing and accessories Miu Miu

Cover Story: Liu Haocun meets every role with indomitable discipline feat. Miu Miu

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