Christoph Waltz & Lucy Liu Talk Old Guy

Christoph Waltz made a name for himself with his memorable, Oscar-winning turns in the Quentin Tarantino films Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. Now, audiences get to see the actor in a different light in the action movie Old Guy, which features Waltz as a veteran hitman who takes a younger killer under his wing. Coincidentally enough, Waltz isn’t the only Tarantino veteran with a starring role in the film. Lucy Liu, who portrayed O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill, plays Anata, who’s something of a love interest for Waltz’s Danny Dolinski. It was an interesting dynamic for the actors to explore.

“I don’t think she expected that connection between the two of them,” Liu said in an interview with ComicBook when asked about Danny and Anata’s relationship. She continued, “And I think when she initially hears about it from him after she’s been rejected from what she thinks is her happily ever after, she’s taken aback in a way that is more about, not wanting to be a victim and kind of pushing him aside because she feels like he’s doing it out of pity. And she doesn’t want that because she’s already feeling quite defeated. But obviously, as time goes on, there’s a connection that changes between the two of them.”

Old Guy is described, “An aging hitman (Christoph Waltz) is forced to train a young prodigy (Cooper Hoffman) when his employer moves to replace the old guard. But when they learn they are being betrayed, the unlikely pair turns into a lethal team — with their double-crossing bosses in their sights. Lucy Liu also stars in this action-packed comedy from the director of Con Air and The Expendables 2.”

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While movie fans will likely make the Tarantino connection between Waltz and Liu immediately, it wasn’t something that was at the forefront of the actors’ mind during production.

“I actually forgot that we worked both [worked with Tarantino] because when you’re there in the moment and you’re enjoying a meal together at the hotel, you’re not really thinking about that,” Liu said. “You don’t think about your resumes. I mean, we did talk about it at one point because I guess it came up naturally, but it was not the first conversation that we had.”

Thematically, Old Guy explores the notion that experience can trump youth, at times. Liu and Waltz touched on how that concept can be applied to their acting careers, which span decades.

“I think that it gives you the sense of self that if you have a question you want to ask, you ask it and you get thorough answers until you feel satisfied,” Liu said. “I think when you’re younger … you’re just more open to doing things than really asking questions. And the next thing you know, you’re like, ‘I don’t even know what I was doing in that project.’ I think you just have a better sense of yourself and you’re more confident going into something or not saying yes to it because it doesn’t feel like it’s your cup of tea. I think there is something about that that’s a great thing to gain as you are in the business longer and longer.”

Waltz added, “I keep saying that when you start, you’re fully enthusiastic. You throw yourself into everything — as you should. Because the precautious types will deprive themselves of experience. So, you need to really [be] full steam ahead, and then, if you try to be honest, then you discover all your shortcomings and the limitations and how reality compares to your initial ideal.” He continued, “And now it starts. It doesn’t start before with the enthusiasm. It starts with when you have to dig yourself out of disappointment.”

Old Guy debuts in select theaters and on digital February 21st.

Are you looking forward to Old Guy? What’s your favorite Waltz performance in a Tarantino film? Let us know in the comments!