Callina Liang Plays Street Fighter VS. ScreenRant On Going Method

Street Fighter star Callina Liang is a longtime fan of the franchise, and she proved her credentials by facing off against ScreenRant in a classic cabinet game during the latest episode of Going Method.

Liang plays the iconic Chun-Li in the newest live-action adaptation, in which she recruits fighters like Ken (The Recruit's Noah Centineo) and Ryu (Bullet Train's Andrew Koji) on behalf of her shady boss, M. Bison (David Dastmalchian). Of course, Chun-Li is no slouch herself, and Liang had her work cut out for her to get into fighting form for the character's signature kicks.

ScreenRant's Ash Crossan played Street Fighter opposite Liang during an interview about the actor's preparation for the role. She also shared how important it feels to represent hopeful young girls as Chun-Li, and just how intricate the costumes and sets were for the game adaptation.

Stepping Into Chun-Li's World For Street Fighter

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Despite being more comfortable with controllers than arcade-style video games, Liang quickly got the hang of kicking like her character in-game. While playing a quick round, she recalled her childhood love of the game and said her 10-year-old self would be "freaking out" about her casting in the movie.

I looked up to Chun-Li. First of all, Chun-Li was the first playable female fighter character. So, she's badass, and she was also Chinese, and she looked really cute. When I was younger and growing up, I was like, 'Damn, one day I want to be badass like her.' I still can't believe I'm here and doing this.

Passion alone doesn't complete a performance, however, and Liang was committed to a physical transformation that would bring Chun-Li to life onscreen. "Everything changed for me from my diet to the way I trained," she explained. "I did martial arts for two years in drama school, but I don't think it was anywhere near the caliber of what this film required."

The moment I got cast, I think I only had two months tops from the phone call to my first day on camera. Immediately, they got me a trainer in Toronto. I started learning how to kick, was doing Taekwondo, Wu-shu, and Muay Thai, two hours every day, and then also doing weightlifting because Chun-Li has huge, ginormous, muscular legs that I needed to honor in one way or another.

Her physical regimen, complemented by a rewatch of previous movies and research through manga and games, paid off the moment she laid eyes on herself as the character in full costume. "I remember freaking out," she exclaimed. "Her costume took the longest to put together, and it honestly was a full thing. I had to wear a bodysuit, and then the front part of the dress came on, and the front of the skirt clipped on."

Street Fighter as a whole is a sight to behold, though. "The set was also crazy," she acknowledged. "I remember when I first got to Australia, [director] Kitao Sakurai brought me around. I was walking around the studio, and I was like, 'Damn, they really built all of the set that you see in either a real location, or they built it.' It was absolutely insane."

Street Fighter arrives in theaters on October 16.

Check out our previous Going Method episodes here:

• Matthew Lillard for Scream 7
• Ludi Lin for Mortal Kombat II

Cast

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  Noah Centineo

  Ken Masters

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  Andrew Koji

  Ryu

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  Callina Liang

  Chun-Li

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  Cody Runnels

  Guile