Fresh from the success of Sinners (2025), actor Li Jun Li has traded one acclaimed project for another, stepping into the world of Spider-Noir opposite Nicolas Cage. In the Marvel series streaming on Prime Video, she takes on the role of Felicia ‘Cat’ Hardy, a fresh interpretation of the iconic comic-book character. Speaking to mid-day, Li reflects on navigating fan expectations, collaborating with Cage, and the creative freedom she had with shaping a character untethered from previous versions.
Excerpts from the interview.
Do you feel the pressure portraying a character with a comic-book legacy, given fans’ expectations?
I would if it was an exact portrayal of a comic character, but Felicia ‘Cat’ Hardy is actually a different iteration of the character by Oren Uziel [showrunner]. For the most part, Spider-Noir is an interpretation that is very much inspired by the comic Spider-Man Noir. So I hope that people are open to seeing this interpretation.
Li Jun Li as Felicia ‘Cat’ Hardy
When Marvel approached you, did you secretly hope for superpowers or a costume?
Sure, who wouldn’t? When you put Marvel in the picture, you definitely wonder if you’re going to have superpowers or if you’re going to fly around in a very tight suit of some sort. But that’s not for me to [decide]. Of course, it’s wishful thinking on my part, because who doesn’t want to be an action hero?
What surprised you the most about working with Nicolas Cage, who is known for his eccentric approach to acting?
I want to say I was very surprised by the speed at which he works. He’s very fast-paced in our scenes, which I really loved. In my mind, the way I rehearsed our material was very different until the day we had our initial table read, and his interpretation was so much quicker, wittier, and funnier that it not only surprised me, but it inspired me to approach my character differently from how I had initially imagined her. He changed the way I played her.
Nicolas Cage in ‘Spider-Noir’
Felicia ‘Cat’ Hardy is often described as a femme fatale. How did you work with the writers and director to make her more three-dimensional and bring a unique perspective to the noir setting?
The fun thing about Spider-Noir is that it is Oren’s own interpretation inspired by the comic of the same name. Our characters are also iterations from the comic. This universe is independent of all the other interpretations. There’s no continuation, nor does it cross over with any other parts of what we’re used to seeing. That gave me a lot of freedom to create her from the basic understanding of Felicia ‘Cat’ Hardy’s past. We sat down at the very beginning to establish her past, her upbringing, and where she came from. Oren also said that her character is inspired by the likes of Rita Hayworth, Ida Lupino, and Kim Basinger. We took influences from these femme fatale actors from back in the day and made it Cat Hardy.
On Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’
The film earned Michael B Jordan the Academy Award for Best Actor. “We always knew that it was going to be great because everyone in the cast and crew loves Ryan Coogler, but no, we didn’t know that it was going to be explosive to this magnitude,” says Li Jun Li, who played Grace in ‘Sinners’. After the film, she began shooting for ‘Spider-Noir’.
0 Comments