Lucy Liu hails 'wonderful and magical' Helen Mirren

Dame Helen Mirren gave Lucy Liu the best advice she's ever received.

The 56-year-old actress has heaped praise on the Oscar-winning star, describing Helen as a "wonderful, magical person".

Asked to recall the best advice she's ever received, Lucy told Empire magazine: "'Stay exactly who you are, fired up and ready to go.' It was from Helen Mirren.

"She is a wonderful, magical person. We were just texting each other."

Lucy observed that Helen's advice really struck a chord with her.

The Hollywood star explained: "Often people give you advice that doesn't reflect who you are and tell you to act in a different way, like, 'Relax and take it easy.' Helen said, 'No, you are perfect as you are: fired up and ready to go.' It really struck me."

Lucy has also confessed to being a huge admirer of Sir Michael Caine. And she recalled being starstruck when she met the award-winning actor for the first time, following the release of 'Ally McBeal' in the late 90s.

Lucy - who played Ling Woo in the legal comedy-drama series - shared: "When I went to a party for the Oscars, I saw Michael Caine there with his wife.

"I was so tremendously moved that they came up to me and he said he was a really big fan of 'Ally McBeal'."

Lucy was amazed to discover that the British actor was a fan of the American TV show.

The actress now looks back on the meeting as a "huge moment" in her career.

The New York-born star continued: "I was very shocked, because he was someone who was such a huge star when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s, and was also someone who was 'overseas'. It was a huge moment for me."

Before finding fame and success, Lucy was told that she was "never going to make it" in Hollywood.

The 'Charlie's Angels' star recalled being encouraged to pursue another career, because the chances of success in the film business were considered to be slim.

The actress - whose parents were born in China, but met each other in New York City - told the 'Asian Enough' podcast: "A lot of people said to me, ‘There’s nobody that’s out there. There’s not a lot of Asian presence in media, television, film. You’re going to be very limited, and you’re never going to make it."

Despite this, Lucy refused to be discouraged and she continued to pursue her acting ambitions.

The movie star said: "I just thought: I don’t know what that means. I don’t know what ‘never’ means. So let’s just try."