Liu Bordizzo wasn’t set on acting originally and was studying for her Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Communication degrees at the University of Technology Sydney. Despite her resistance, Hollywood kept knocking.

One of her first experiences with moviemaking was taking a job as a body double on the Australian shoot of Hugh Jackman’s X-Men spinoff sequel, The Wolverine while still at university. It was only when she was cast in a leading role in Sword of Destiny that she deferred her studies for an acting career.

Read more: 15 minutes with Bianca Bustamante, the first Southeast Asian W Series racing driver

It wasn’t just casting directors who wanted Liu Bordizzo in front of the camera. While at university, she was scouted by a modelling agency that was perhaps a little over-eager. After repeated attempts to reach Liu Bordizzo through her Instagram DMs, an agency rep “accidentally” (Liu Bordizzo’s own air quotes) bumped into her at Sydney’s central train station and took the opportunity to convince her to give modelling a try.

Regardless of how she got into modelling or fashion, Liu Bordizzo is currently an ambassador for Chanel.

Sabine Wren is a force to be reckoned with in a galaxy far, far away, but you wouldn’t want to mess with Liu Bordizzo in our universe either.

As a teen, she gained a black belt in Taekwondo and undertook training in kenpō karate. She also has training in Wudang sword fighting, having studied under the legendary Hong Kong fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping in preparation for her role in Sword of Destiny.

Read more: The Malaysian gym that is equipping women with self-defence skills

Liu Bordizzo has an interesting app installed on her phone called WeCroak. It is based on the Bhutanese folk saying, “To be a happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily”. The app reminds its users five times a day at random intervals that they’re going to die.

While some might call this morbid, Liu Bordizzo believes it keeps her grounded and focused on the present. On occasion, though, its alerts have freaked out her friends when they happen to glance at her phone notifications.

Meet more inspiring personalities in Entertainment on the Gen.T List.

NOW READ

5 most popular Bollywood actresses on Instagram

The most iconic Disneyland snacks to try at the happiest place on Earth

From ‘Friends’ to ‘Succession’, how TV shows are influencing home décor trends