With The Copenhagen Test now streaming on Peacock, Simu Liu finds himself navigating an espionage fantasy that blends surveillance paranoia, technology, and personal identity across eight episodes. Created by Thomas Bradon, the series marks a project Liu has long been eager to take on.
Liu plays Alexander Hale, an intelligence agent whose world is turned upside down when an enemy hacks his mind to extract classified information. With his thoughts no longer secure, Hale becomes both an asset and a liability to the very agency he serves.
Speaking about what initially drew him to the project, Liu said the concept itself was a major hook. “I think on the one hand, it was definitely the premise and the world-building, just dealing with themes of surveillance and technology. I feel like a lot of those things are really just topical and relevant today,” he said, adding that he was particularly taken by Bradon’s vision of a near-future intelligence world. “I really appreciated Thomas’ take on this 5 minutes into the future, set in this world of intelligence.”
Beyond the genre elements, Liu was deeply moved by the emotional and cultural layers written into his character. He noted that Alexander’s background stood out immediately to him. “I really was struck by Alexander’s backstory in the script and felt like he was somebody who, in a fully three-dimensional way, kind of embodied what it was like for someone from an immigrant family to be in a situation… where they’re constantly being second-guessed, constantly being overlooked and underestimated,” Liu shared. He added that this aspect would resonate strongly with viewers who share similar experiences. “It’s something that a lot of people who grew up in those immigrant families… I think resonates a lot.”
As both the lead actor and an executive producer, Liu sees the series as part of a broader creative mission. He said he is proud to be “doing my part and trying to get things made that feel kind of universal but also culturally specific and just my own unique brand of different.”
Melissa Barrera Sinclair Daniel, Brian d’Arcy James, Mark O’Brien and Kathleen Chalfant also play key roles in the series.