Like most college students on the brink of graduation, Ashley Liao still has several college credits to go. But unlike many of her classmates, she also has two film releases packed into her schedule.
First up is “Love in Taipei,” a film adaptation of the popular YA novel “Loveboat, Taipei” for Paramount+. Liao leads the coming-of-age rom-com as Ever Wong, a high school graduate who’s accepted into a premed program and the dance program at New York University. The summer before her freshman year, Ever’s parents send her to a cultural immersion program in Taiwan where she navigates romance, identity, and her passion for dance. The film costars Ross Butler and Nico Hiraga as the two main love interests.
The 21-year-old actress, and UCLA undergrad, recognized a kindred spirit in Ever.
“When I was very new in my undergraduate degree, I really wasn’t sure what to pursue. I felt like I had to choose between the art of acting and my passion for my career, and attending my dream university,” Liao says. “Ever is stuck at that same crossroad of not knowing whether she wants to follow what her parents want her to do, or what she wants to do — her passion for dancing. And so it really struck a nerve with me,” adds Liao, who plans to finish up her university coursework this fall.
“One of Ever’s biggest struggles is figuring out where she belongs and what she wants. And isn’t that everyone’s struggle?” says Liao. “Ever eventually figures out that it’s OK to not have every single detail planned out. Sometimes it’s OK to go with the flow.”
The project required Liao to delve into dance herself; she took several ballet intensives in Los Angeles before flying out for filming in Taiwan, where she continued dance classes over Zoom while in two-week mandatory quarantine at her hotel.
Most of the project was shot on-location in Taipei, an experience that Liao describes as “phenomenal.” “There are some shots in this film that don’t look real,” says Liao. “There is a particular scene where we’re in front of Taipei 101 on this beautiful trail. Getting to see that was incredible in real life, because I hadn’t been back to Taiwan in maybe a decade,” she adds.
Liao, who got her industry start as a child actress in projects like “Fuller House,” will next appear in the “Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” set to be released in theaters Nov. 17. She filmed the project in Berlin — her first time in Europe — shortly after wrapping “Love in Taipei.”
“I was in shambles the whole time, to be completely honest with you,” she says of the experience. “Because as someone who grew up watching the original ‘Hunger Games’ films and reading the books, getting to be a part of this has been incredible, and so incredibly surreal,” adds Liao, who portrays Clemensia in the film. “It’s a life dream of mine.”
This summer, in the downtime between both releases, Liao’s been back in class at UCLA finishing up her communication degree. “That’ll be a big life accomplishment. I had to take some time off because of working,” she says. “But I’m very happy to be able to do both.”
Interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike.