You remember her as Lady Deathstrike in X2 but today Kelly Hu can be seen on The CW’s hit series, The Vampire Diaries playing a vampire alongside Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. But that’s not all! Kelly recently shot a Joel Silver Pilot which she also talks about below and boy was I in for a shock when I asked for the details! Check it out:

Picture Above Left to Right: Nina Dobrev and Kelly Hu

So had you seen Vampire Diaries prior to being attached to the series?
No, I hadn’t but as soon as I was cast, I watched every episode because I wanted to know what was going on with the storyline and of curse my friend, Ian Somerhalder is on the show. I have to admit, after the first few episodes, I was hooked. It is a really fun show to watch.

What’s your favorite part about playing a vampire?
It’s a lot of fun to play characters that aren’t real, that don’t exist because you have a lot more freedom and can go so much further. At the same time, with this it is kind of tricky to play a vampire because it is still within that realm of believability, so it is kind of a challenge but it is really fun to be able to do it.

Why do you think vampires are such a craze in American popular culture right now?
I think the vampires that are being portrayed right now are really sexy. I don’t know that they were really portrayed that way in the past, aside from Interview with a Vampire. That’s when I started finding vampires really sexy. The Lost Boys too. I think the powers & their strength are intriguing too since vampires can go so much further in life since they are so much harder to kill.

What is your favorite characteristic about Pearl?
I like her strength. She is so powerful but yet still very sophisticated, still a lady. You usually don’t get a lot with female vampires. You usually see a vixen but Pearl is a classy business woman. I think it has a lot to do with her era and her life experience, since she has been a vampire for about 550 years. She has realized that in order to survive for so long as a vampire, one really has to be smart and be able to exist in the world by being respectable.

Would you want to live for hundreds of years?
I think it would be really cool to live for hundreds and hundreds of years because you really get to see how the world develops. I wish that I could be alive 150 years from now just to see everything, like how technology progresses.

What did you think of your Victorian wardrobe the first time you saw it for the episode, Children of the Damned?
When I first got to do the fitting for it, I was so excited about it! Because as an Asian girl, you never really get to wear corsets since usually you are playing the maid or something. So it was really thrilling to be able to finally do that…but it was thrilling for all of about an hour. It became so painful so quickly! I don’t know how women back then did it. I was really glad to be finally over with shooting then. (laughs)

Do you enjoy voice over work more than in front of the camera work?
I kind of do in some ways because it is so specific. All you are listening to is your voice, how you articulate…it’s just about the way you sound. You don’t have to think about how you look on camera or if you are hitting your correct mark. It’s really freeing in that sense. But of course being able to do action on camera instead of just screaming and grunting is a lot more fun.

Well speaking of action…having done X-Men 2, what comic books would you like to see turned into films and act in?
There is an amazing comic out called SHE that is pretty cool. There is another one called Jade. Both are Asian women leads who are very sexy and both comic books are very action packed. I think those would be fun to do.

What can you tell me about the CBS Pilot, The Odds?
I am actually in Vegas right now on the last day of the shoot. It’s a Joel Silver Pilot and it takes place in Vegas, although we shot a lot of it in Albuquerque. I play an assistant district attorney, so no action going on for me. Donald Faison plays one of the lead characters. Women are going to fall in love with Sullivan Stapleton. It is kind of a procedural like the CSI brand but it is funny like The Hangover.

Hmm. That sounds like a 10 o’clock time slot.
Yeah, it might be because it is a bit risqué, I have to admit. The opening scene is pretty much my ass (laughs). Joel Silver is edgy (laughs) but I don’t know if CBS will air that, so we’ll see.

That is interesting that Joel Silver is tied to your next project since he executive produced a past CBS vampire series, Moonlight. Have you seen that?
No, I haven’t but I have heard about it. It might have been just too ahead of its time. I heard it was really good though.

Lastly, what are your upcoming projects?
I have an indie film I did in New York called, Almost Perfect although I am unsure when it will be released so keep your eyes open for that.

The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on The CW.