" title="Andrea James Lui"> Andrea James Lui

Last spring, Bail Enforcers (aka Bounty Hunters) enjoyed its World Premiere at ActionFest – a festival devoted exclusively to action movies and founded by Chuck Norris‘ younger brother, Aaron. After reuniting with the Bail Enforcers (aka Bounty Hunters) cast and crew at the festival in Asheville, North Carolina (and hanging out with Michael Jai White, aka Black Dynamite, as well as chatting with Larnell Stovall, aka Fight Choreographer of Bad-Assness,) I was asked to do an interview about my experience working with Trish. An excerpt from that interview can be found at Trish Stratus fights the good fight in Bail Enforcers, while the full interview is right here :)

You had some pretty hardcore fight scenes with Trish, notably in the ambulance and in the warehouse. What was it like filming these with her/working with her?
Because Trish and I have such a variety of training and knowledge between us, I think we developed a mutual respect in which we were both eager to learn and share our experiences with each other. Trish is incredibly generous, supportive, and perceptive – which are the best qualities in a fight partner. When your characters’ intentions are to injure each other, then the actors’ priorities must be to protect each other; I always felt confident and safe working with Trish. That said, we lay a fair beating on each other in rehearsal and on set – with bruises to prove, so Trish’s unrelenting toughness was invaluable as well because you can’t shy away from pain if you want to be bad-ass!

When told you would be in fight scenes with WWE Champion Trish Stratus, what was your original reaction?
When I booked the audition for Bail Enforcers, I had no idea who was involved – I was just excited that an action film was casting in Toronto (which tends to happen more exclusively in Hollywood). So I decided to experiment with the audition by choreographing fight scenes for each of the sides. I don’t even know if I was in frame – I was just really eager to showcase my training!

When my agent called to tell me that I’d not only booked the role, but that I’d be fighting with Trish Stratus, I thought: Finally! I get to showcase my experience in martial arts and stage combat with someone totally hardcore, who’s gonna put up a serious fight! It was also a huge deal that my cinematic debut would be with someone as accomplished and with as significant a fan following as Trish. It’s every aspiring performer’s goal to work with more established and successful performers because of the invaluable learning experience it provides.

What’s your overall impression of watching the movie on the big screen?
Seeing the project come to fruition at ActionFest was incredibly exciting. Hearing the audience vocally reacting throughout the film really heightened my excitement and all of the positive feedback in the aftermath solidified my pride in what we accomplished with Bail Enforcers. The whole weekend in Asheville was so satisfying – reuniting with cast and crew, taking pictures and signing autographs, and seeing Trish interact with her fans with such attention to detail. She really is a fabulous performer, an intelligent business woman, and a total blast to work with – I can’t wait to do it again soon!