Take that from Chinese actress Li Bingbing, who is one of the new cast additions to the popular video game film franchise.

Last Friday, during a roundtable interview with reporters at Empire Hotel, Subang Jaya, the slender, ageless 39-year-old was affable as she recalled bonding on-set with her Hollywood co-star Milla Jovovich.

"Milla was warm and welcoming to everyone," said Li in Mandarin about the Russian-American actress, who has starred in the Resident Evil franchise for the past 10 years.

"We'd engage in girl-talk, chatting about anything under the sun, from beauty tips, how we keep in shape, to our views on romance and relationships."

Li also shared how the set was literally a family event as Jovovich's five-year-old daughter Ever would "come onto our film set and mingle with both cast and crew" after school.

Resident Evil: Retribution is directed by Jovovich's husband, British film-maker Paul W.S. Anderson. The movie, rated NC16, opens here tomorrow.

Li recalled: "We filmed in Toronto for a good whole two months, so Milla had enrolled Ever in a school in the area."

In Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth instalment of the high-octane blockbuster series, Li plays Ada Wong, a newfound ally of iconic heroine Alice (Jovovich).

As a deadly virus ravages earth at breakneck speed, transforming the global population into legions of flesh-eating undead, Alice, Wong and their compatriots go on a hunt for the evil forces, chasing them from Tokyo to New York and then to Moscow.

Li, who was in the Malaysian capital to attend the film's premiere at Sunway Pyramid shopping mall, also found herself on the receiving end of Jovovich's candid nagging about her singlehood.

"She is someone who prioritises family life highly," said the bachelorette, who told Chinese newspaper Guangzhou Daily in February that her parents "have been giving her pressure to settle down".

"Sometimes, Milla would press me: 'Quickly go find a boyfriend and have a kid.'

"She'd stress that a guy's looks are not so crucial and building a family of one's own is more important."

Li, best known for her dramatic roles in espionage flick The Message (2009) - she bagged a Golden Horse Best Actress Award for it - and last year's literary film Snow Flower And The Secret Fan, said that she also formed firm friendships with most of the other cast members.

Li first made her Hollywood debut in 2008's The Forbidden Kingdom, but Resident Evil: Retribution was her "first English film which I had to act opposite an almost- entire cast of unfamiliar Caucasians".

She was the sole Chinese representative.

"It was quite nerve-racking," she said.

In The Forbidden Kingdom, she was still in a "comfort zone of sorts", as her co-stars included a bevy of Chinese veteran thespians, including Jet Li, Jackie Chan and fellow Chinese actress Liu Yifei.

This time, it wasn't easy in the beginning, she admitted, with her weak grasp of the English language being a stumbling block.

"Initially, I just stayed quiet and didn't dare to speak up," said Li.

"Soon, some of my co-stars discovered that I could actually speak English and it was then that I realised they had very low expectations of me.

"They didn't mind my halting English at all and even encouraged me to speak as much as possible...

"When I couldn't express myself in words, I'd use body language!"

She said that she and her Resident Evil co-stars "stay in touch via e-mail".

Li added that another challenge was being alone and away from home.

"The hardest part about doing this movie was dealing with my homesickness," she said.

"I was so far away from home, I didn't have friends in Canada and the cultural differences between Westerners and Asians were vast."

In praise of Urb

Li was also full of praise for Estonian-American actor Johann Urb, 35, who plays her character's romantic interest, Leon S. Kennedy, in the film.

Although there are no kissing or intimate scenes between the pair, there is a subtle moment where Urb caresses Li's leg gently.

"He's really handsome and muscular, isn't he?" said the actress with a smile.

"In real life, Johann is very nice and super tall... I think he's about 1.94 metres, I remember having to tilt my head upwards whenever I talk to him."

As to whether she hopes to have a stronger romantic story arc with Urb in the sixth instalment, Li quipped: "Hmm, you got to ask the director (referring Anderson) about this."

While nothing has been cast in stone, chances are pretty high that she would return for the next movie.

"My one big pity on Resident Evil: Retribution was that I didn't get to fight enough," she said.

"I was actually very confident of my fighting scenes, having picked up a thing or two from Chinese wushu experts (Jet) Li and Sammo Hung when I co-starred with them in previous films.

"Our action choreographer told me that he was surprised I could fight so well... Hopefully, Ada Wong gets more action scenes in the next one."

Her experience on Resident Evil: Retribution ultimately provided her with an in-depth view of film-making in the West.

There are several remarkable differences between doing a movie in Hollywood and one back home in China, said Li.

"Unlike the Chinese film industry, where interpersonal relationships outweigh contracts, (Hollywood) adheres strictly to whatever is signed and agreed beforehand.

"In the West, filming wraps up on time and they follow the schedule accordingly, whereas in China, it's common for both cast and crew to work overtime in order to save money."

She joked: "You know, it's really tough being a Chinese actor.

"Very often, it doesn't make a difference for us, having signed a contract or not."

keeyunt@sph.com.sg

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