Blades and brotherhood: Actors Liu Hsiu-fu, Tsao Yu-ning on preparing for fencing film Pierce

SINGAPORE – As an actor and model with no experience in the sport of fencing, Liu Hsiu-fu employed a mental trick to memorise the complex moves.

“I began to see fencing as a form of dance,” says the 27-year-old, explaining his approach to the extended match sequences in the upcoming local film Pierce. 

“Once I thought of fencing as a series of dance steps, it all fell into place.” 

Taiwanese co-stars Liu and Tsao Yu-ning, 30, were in town to promote the psychological thriller and spoke to The Straits Times on Oct 30 at Singapore furniture brand Castlery’s showroom in Orchard Road. 

Opening in Singapore cinemas on Nov 7, the film follows a young fencer, Zijie (Liu), and his relationship with his older brother Zihan, a former convict (Tsao). 

Singaporean writer-director Nelicia Low, a former national fencer, shot the film in Taiwan and won Best Director at the 2024 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. The story explores themes of brotherhood, memory and the complex nature of truth through the lens of competitive fencing.

Speaking about his character, Liu explains how he found authentic emotional connections. “The character’s decisions in the film aligned with what I would do in real life,” he says.

Liu, who was nominated for Best New Actor at Taiwan’s Golden Bell Awards for his role in the television drama On Children – Child Of The Cat (2018), points out how understanding human subjectivity was key to his role. His other credits include the romantic drama series Trick Or Love (2023) and the miniseries drama Bonus Trip (2022). 

Zijie’s loyalty to his older brother remains unshaken despite the warnings of adults around him. He is willing to put himself in danger to prove that his brother is innocent. 

“Humans are inherently subjective and can never be truly objective. My character always remembers his brother being good to him, though this might not reflect reality,” Liu says. 

A former professional baseball player-turned-actor, Tsao made his feature debut in the baseball biopic Kano (2014), winning Best Supporting Actor at the Taipei Film Festival and earning a nomination for Best New Performer at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards. 

For his character’s fencing background, he found inspiration in unexpected places.

“(Nelicia) showed me videos of a particular fencer who would laugh loudly under his mask after winning matches,” he says, describing how this helped shape his portrayal of Zihan’s attacking style.  

Low’s pre-production process proved crucial for building the brothers’ complex relationship. Both actors participated in games and exercises designed to create a specific dynamic. 

“We developed a bond that maintained a certain distance – not awkward, but not super close either,” says Tsao, explaining how this helped capture their characters’ complicated connection.

Pierce also stars award-winning Taiwanese actress Ding Ning, known for romantic drama Terrorizers (2021) and Netflix crime drama series Shards Of Her (2022), as the brothers’ mother.

As the antagonist in the story, Tsao says his job is to maintain suspense and keep the audience wondering about his true state of mind – is he as bad as everyone says he is or is he being unfairly persecuted?

To achieve a look that could be read as sinister or innocent, he says he kept his mind blank. 

“Then I tensed my body, maintaining a state of alertness. His character exists in the ambiguous space, between extremes. That tension helps create that uncertainty.”