Although Liu Yifei (刘亦菲) is the main star in Disney’s live-action “Mulan”, another woman named Liu Yaxi (刘亚西) has been generating significant buzz on the internet.
Not much is known about Liu Yaxi, other then the fact that she was a stunt double for Liu Yifei. Pictures of her in the red Mulan costume have since gone viral after making its way on social media.
The 33-year-old actress-singer was previously criticised for relying on 4 different body doubles throughout the filming process. 3 were stand-ins for lighting and camera tests, while the stuntwoman was Liu Yaxi herself. The stand-ins wouldn’t necessarily appear on set simultaneously and would only show up at a certain time and location.
The professional martial artist also defended Liu Yifei, saying the actress performed all of the acting scenes herself. “Martial stunts are dangerous, and will inevitably require the use of a stunt double. If an actor does everything by themselves, it would be too dangerous. Our occupation requires our skills to be used somewhere anyway,” she explained.
Yaxi added, “I feel that (Liu Yifei’s) professionalism and serious attitude to her work is something that everyone has seen. I don’t know about others, but I’ve learnt (from her) during the filming of ‘Mulan’.”
In speaking with Insider, cinematographer Mandy Walker also echoed the same sentiment, revealing that Yifei executed 90% of her own stunts and battle sequences. “We always had a stunt person there, but she trained as well and we would try it with her and, nine times out of 10, she did it,” Mandy told the publication.
Having said that, many fans had been gushing over Liu Yaxi:
- “She’s off-the-charts attractive.”
- “As expected, the stunt double for our fairy-like (Yifei) looks like a fairy as well.”
- “With her looks, it’s really a pity if she doesn’t enter showbiz.”
- “She should take up acting to become a female version of Jackie Chan.”
- “She is the Mulan that we didn’t think we deserve.”
- “She has a complete package.”
Judging from the behind-the-scenes pictures she uploaded, it appears that Liu Yaxi was also a stunt double for Gong Li, who played the witch Xianniang.
Watch her in action here:
You can also stalk the Chinese beauty on Weibo and Instagram.
