| As the overwhelmingly litigious Ling Woo on Ally McBeal (Mondays; Fox, CTV), Lucy Liu has developed quite the image of an ice queen on screen. In real life, however, the New York-born actress is bubbly, exuberant and energetic - traits which, she says, always evoke a lot of surprise in people she meets on the street. 'They always say, afterwards,'Wow, you really are nice!' " Lui told reporters gathered at the recent Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, Calif, "And I've thought, 'What did you expect - a dragon lady or something?' " Liu had initially auditioned for the role of Nelle, the strong-willed lawyer who joined the oddball Boston law firm at the beginning of this season. Although the role went to Portia De Rossi, executive producer David E. Kelley liked what he saw in Liu and came up with the character of Nelle's scary client, Ling, as well. 'l'm having such a blast," Liu says of her role, which started out as a guest spot and has evolved into a regular berth on the show. 'p~m doing stuff that I never thought I'd be able to do." Ling comes to the forefront again this week in a special episode that reveals a big secret about the character. As for any secret simi ties between Ling and Lucy, the actress draws some comparisons. "I think that I'm honest like Ling," she admits. "And I like to be as blunt as poss ible. I don't think of myself in any way as a genius or that I have such ahigh IQ level. But in Hollywood, I feel pretty special." "I'm doing stuff that I never thought I'd be able to do." Ling comes to the forefront again this week in a special episode that reveals a big secret about the character. As for any secret similarities between Ling & Lucy, the actress draws some comparisons. "I think that I'm honest like Ling," she admits. "And I like to be as blunt as possible. I don't think of myself in any way as a genius or that I have such a high IQ level. But in Hollywood, I feel pretty special." |