Poppy Liu is the radical heart of 'I Love Boosters'

Patrick Ryan, USA TODAYTue, June 2, 2026 at 12:02 PM UTC

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Spoiler alert! The following contains minor plot details about "I Love Boosters" (in theaters now).

Poppy Liu is no stranger to struggle.

Before her film and TV career took off, the “Hacks” actress worked every job under the sun: bartending, stocking retail shelves and boozily improvising the Bard in “Drunk Shakespeare” off-Broadway.

Most unforgettably, she was part of a “leftist-themed puppet show,” says Liu, 35, who uses she/they pronouns. “We would go to these high-end luxury condos and perform in their playrooms for toddlers. They’re ages 1 to 3, and we're talking about the ethics of an oil spill and Chinese political art.”

Liu’s go-getter, advocate spirit is precisely what drew them to “I Love Boosters," Boots Riley’s absurdist, anti-capitalist comedy starring Keke Palmer. In the wildly surreal satire, Liu plays a Chinese factory worker named Jianhu, who teleports into the Bay Area and starts robbing clothing stores as a middle finger to fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore), who has made working conditions untenable in China.

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Poppy Liu is the breakthrough star of Boots Riley's "I Love Boosters."

With the help of Corvette (Palmer) and the shoplifting Velvet Gang, Jianhu helps spark protests and factory strikes worldwide, demanding fair pay and safe, healthy workspaces. The film stresses that railing against billionaires isn’t enough, and that characters like Corvette and Jianhu need to look after the people in their own backyards as well.

“Yes, we need global working-class solidarity, but we also need to water our own part of the collective garden,” Liu says. “Jianhu didn’t set out to be an activist – she was happy just hanging out with her cousin between shifts at the factory. But we see her getting radicalized in real time and trying to figure out how she can make things better for her community.”

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Sade (Naomi Ackie, left), Corvette (Keke Palmer), Jianhu (Poppy Liu) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) get ready to rob a clothing store in "I Love Boosters."

Liu was born in Xi'an, China, as the daughter of engineers. Her family moved to Minnesota when she was 2 and then back to China about 12 years later, although “my English is still way better than my Mandarin and I grew up with American culture.” Her earliest film memories are watching “Titanic” and “The Silence of the Lambs” when she was just 5. (“My parents didn’t know the American movie rating system,” Liu recalls with a laugh.)

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Since their 20s, Liu has aligned themself with myriad social-justice causes, including the Free Palestine movement in recent years. The actress has been working steadily since 2018 in TV series such as “Sunnyside,” “Better Call Saul” and “iCarly,” and says she has never felt pressure to stay mum about social and political issues.

Jean Smart, left, Poppy Liu and Hannah Einbinder in a Season 1 episode of "Hacks."

“When I first signed with my manager and agent, I barely had a credit to my name,” Liu recalls. “But I sent them both a one-sheet PDF of my personal identity statement: a 10 bullet-point breakdown of the stories I wanted to do and the people I wanted to work with. From the beginning, they knew what I cared about and were fully on board. There were moments when I heard from friends that were being advised to stay silent, but I never got that from my team at all.”

Liu has since befriended other actors who have voiced their support for Palestine, including Hannah Einbinder and Melissa Barrera.

“I met Melissa two years ago, when there was just a handful of people being outspoken about the genocide in Gaza,” Liu says. “We met in that context and I really adore her. We all found each other early on.”

Hannah Einbinder, left, and Poppy Liu attend the Critics Choice Association's 3rd annual celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema & Television in Los Angeles on May 29.

She and Einbinder were also seated with Mark Ruffalo at the Golden Globes earlier this year, where they all wore “Artists4Ceasefire” pins.

“From across the table, he was like, ‘I see you,’ and I was like, ‘Comrade Mark!’ ” Liu recalls. “Then he came over, we clasped hands and stared deeply into each other’s eyes, like, ‘Yes!’ ”

Why 'I Love Boosters' is 'extra special' for Poppy Liu's family

Along with its topical themes and messages, “I Love Boosters” is also the most immensely personal movie that Liu has made to date. They spoke at length about the script with Riley, who changed Jianhu’s hometown and language from Cantonese to Mandarin, to reflect Liu’s personal upbringing. She also asked her mom to record voice notes of her dialogue so that she could authentically capture the Mandarin accent.

“Jianhu needs to have an accent because she's never lived in the U.S. before,” Liu says. “At the same time, I felt really careful about it because for the most part, there’s still a caricature aspect to the way that Chinese accents are presented in Hollywood.”

Poppy Liu, left, and mother Leah Cai at the Los Angeles premiere of "I Love Boosters" on May 13.

Liu’s mother, Leah Cai, joined her at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere, which was “extra special. She really loved it.” Since the film opened in theaters late last month, Liu’s mom has also been sending her pictures of family friends in Minnesota who have been going to see “Boosters.”

“They’re all going to the theater in droves to support me,” Liu says. “There’s this big group photo of these Chinese aunties and uncles in their late 50s and 60s, all standing around a gigantic ‘I Love Boosters’ poster. I felt so emotional seeing it. This is the role I care most about, in terms of their feedback. I felt so proud to hear them be proud of it.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'I Love Boosters' is 'extra special' to Poppy Liu and Chinese mom

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