15 Seemingly Terrible Horror Castings That Totally Paid Off
5. Presence - Lucy Liu
Steven Soderbergh's wonderful and grossly underrated Presence was marketed as a haunted-house horror but in reality, it's more of a family drama that happens to contain supernatural elements.
It rises high on its fleshed-out characters, those being a down-to-earth suburban family who've just moved into an apparently haunted house. This is the kind of movie that seems to be calling out for a group of character actors or newcomers and while most of the actors fit that description, there is one Hollywood star in the mix: Lucy Liu, who plays Rebecca, the family's well-meaning yet deeply flawed matriarch.
Many might've, understandably, questioned the choice to cast a big action star in here, yet out-of-context you wouldn't know that this isn't the kind-of role Liu normally plays. She fully sheds her movie star persona and comes across as the kind of everyday woman you'd pass in the street.
Working brilliantly with Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang and Eddy Maday - who play Rebecca's husband, daughter and son respectively - Liu embodies the role and effortlessly brings the character to life, proving that Liu is a more-than-capable dramatic actress in her own right.