Why This 'Barbie' Star's New Action Series Felt Like Being on 'Love Island'
- - Why This 'Barbie' Star's New Action Series Felt Like Being on 'Love Island'
Will SayreDecember 27, 2025 at 10:29 PM
0
Getty Images
Last year, Peacock dropped an edgy series led by Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (The Day of the Jackal). And now, the streamer has a different sort of the thriller show available, called The Copenhagen Test.
Simu Liu (Shang-Chi, Barbie) leads the series alongside Melissa Barrera (Scream) in the sci-fi-type series, which follows an intelligence agent (Liu) whose mind is hacked in an effort to bring down his agency. When his bosses become aware of the predicament, they assign a fellow agent (Barrera) to play his girlfriend to try and use the hack to their advantage and track down the source.
On that note, there are the expected romance scenes in The Copenhagen Test — with a twist. Liu, 36, recently opened up to Deadline about shooting those unique moments with Barrera, 35, as characters who are aware they're being watched as "lovers" in action.
"I told [Melissa], it almost feels like being on Love Island," Liu told the outlet in an interview article published on Saturday, Dec. 27. "It feels like [our characters] Michelle and Alexander are in their own reality TV show about finding love, because they’re playing out this romance. And of course, they know the cameras are on, so there’s a part of them that knows that they’re playing it up."
The Last Breath star continued, "But of course, if that’s all it was, I don’t think that would be compelling for an audience to watch. There has to be an element of, the audience has to believe that part of that is real. And I think if they do, and if you believe that it’s real, then you believe that there’s a part of both of their characters that really wants it. And whether or not it’s for somebody else, it’s also a little bit for them as well. It’s a lot of layers to get to play, and she’s a great scene partner."
Earlier this month, Liu revealed on Tonight Show how Taylor Swift played a part in his engagement to Allison Hsu earlier this year, with the pop star recording a video to play for the occasion.
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
