Actress Liza Lapira shares personal experiences as "The Equalizer" tackles anti-Asian violence
NEW YORK -- On Sunday's episode of the CBS drama "The Equalizer," the team tackles a crime that many are experiencing across the country, especially in New York -- hate crimes against Asians.
Actress Liza Lapira, who plays Melody Bayani, joined CBS2's Cindy Hsu to talk about the episode.
Lapira says she was invited to collaborate with the writers on the episode.
"I was invited to the table early on. They approached me before anything was written. They approached me when it was just an idea on the board and checked in with my comfort level with it because it was and still is going on, and they checked in with my comfort level about talking to the writers," Lapira said. "And then months later when it was about to be written, I had several conversations with a brilliant writer Zoe Robyn and I shared a ton of personal stories."
Hsu asked what Lapira's experience has been with the recent spike in hate crimes against the Asian community.
"You know, in the beginning, they were attacking our elderly, which was especially egregious and disconcerting, and so how it affected me the most was making sure my elderly relatives were OK," she said. "You know, the most heartbreaking thing of it all was they were giving out whistles at the project down in Chinatown ... But the most heartbreaking part of it all was I was trying to give my mom, you know, mace or like a weapon or something, and she was like, 'No, I'll take the whistle,' and I had to say-- I had to say to her, 'They won't help you.'"
Lapira is from Queens and says it was a joy to join "The Equalizer," which mostly films in New York and New Jersey.
"This whole thing has been the highlight of my career. I get to work with Queen Latifah and the people I work with, writers that I work with, and I get to shoot at iconic locations. Like, locations that as a kid, I would pass by and be like, wow, I wonder what it's like to be there, and now I'm, you know, shooting a fight scene in front of the Empire State Building," she said. "It's beyond my imagination. I think 12-year-old me would have been like, if we told her, she'd be like, I don't even understand what you're saying."
"The Equalizer" airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS.