Simu Liu (刘思慕) recently made history when he got cast as the lead in the first ever Asian Marvel movie, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”.
While we can’t wait for the 30-year-old Chinese-Canadian to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in 2021, he wasn’t even on our radar until the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC).
Shang-Chi is known as the Master of Kung Fu in the comics. He was raised by Fu Manchu – a deadly assassin and an immortal crime lord. Instead of following his father’s evil ways, Shang-Chi embraced good and became his father’s nemesis.
Besides being a skilful martial arts superhuman, Shang-Chi also possesses super-strength, and is a pro with throw ranged weapons and various types of swords.
Now that it is Liu’s time to shine, it’s probably time to get to know this superstar in the making. Here are a few interesting fun facts we managed to dig up from the internet. Check it out:
1. He was born in China
He was born in one of the coldest cities in China – Harbin – on 19th April 1989. His parents and him moved to Canada when he was 5. As a child of Asian immigrants, he worked hard to fulfil his parent’s expectations, by finance and accounting at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School for 2 years, in order to secure a stable job.
2. He worked as an accountant for less than a year
Liu admitted that he got laid off at accounting giant Deloitte, “because I was so bad”. He even shared stock images of a photoshoot he did in 2014 that was used for accounting books.
“I was miserable at this job, just as I was miserable as a student, and really didn’t feel like I was living the most purposeful version of my life at all,” he previously told Character Media.
3. His Hollywood career kicked off in 2012
His first gig was a Hong Kong Police constable in “Nikita” in 2012. Liu was also an extra in the blockbuster “Pacific Rim” and even appeared in “Heroes Reborn”, “Warehouse 13”, and the final season of “Orphan Black”. You may even remember him as a guest star in the award winning hit American television show “Fresh Off The Boat” (P/s: he was on the 100th episode).
But the actor is probably best known for playing Jung Kim in the CBC-TV sitcom “Kim’s Convenience”.
4. Besides acting, he’s also a writer and filmmaker
The man of the hour wrote an episode for the 2nd season of Canadian TV drama “Blood and Water” (which premiered in 2015). He was also a series regular there.
In addition, Liu also wrote and produced a short film titled “Meeting Mommy” in 2018, which was released on the Wong Fu Productions YouTube channel. “Meeting Mommy” even won several awards on the festival circuit in the USA and Canada.
5. He’s got the moves
There’s no doubt this Instagram video earned him a few browny points with the Marvel execs. This Chinese hunk proves that he can do some serious damage with a pair of nunchucks.
6. He’s good with balls
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Basketballs – that is. His social media feed has a number of posts of him either watching a game court side or actually playing it. Who doesn’t love a good slam dunk right?
His six-pack abs also come from his love for various sports. Aside from volleyball and gymnastics, this dude also goes waterskiing, rock climbing and practises kung fu and karate.
7. He sings!
He’s more than a triple-threat! Liu doesn’t just show off his fit body, sometimes he also treats his followers with some tunes. The actor previously recorded some Korean songs for “Kim’s Convenience” and also sang “Mistletoe” from Justin Bieber’s Christmas album.
8. The hunk willed his superhero status into existance
Last year, he uploaded a topless snap with the caption, “People ask me why I go topless a lot. I’m just waiting for Hollywood to make me a superhero suit.” Back in 2014, he was already pushing for Marvel to include more diversity.
Hey @Marvel, great job with Cpt America and Thor. Now how about an Asian American hero?
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) July 17, 2014
Thanks for getting back to me https://t.co/FFRuM03p20
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) July 21, 2019
It’s incredible to see how everything has come full circle hasn’t it?
9. How he landed the role of Shang-Chi
“I waited two days and I had gone online and watched videos of all these other Marvel stars and how they got cast and I think I got it in my mind that Kevin [Feige] likes to call them personally so I thought if my manager calls, it might be bad news but if I get a call from an unknown number, it might be good news,” he told ET Canada.
Liu continued, “It’s about 6:19 pm Tuesday and lo and behold, I’m in my underwear eating shrimp crackers and there’s an unknown number from Burbank, California. Now I know Disney Studios is in Burbank so my heart’s thumping out of my chest and I jump and am like ‘Hello!’ and it’s the divine voice of Kevin Feige. I’ll never forget it, it’s so calm, it’s so booming. He’s like, ‘Simu, hi. We’d like you to play Shang-Chi. Also, we need you go to Comic-Con in 4 days’.”
Bonus:
10. Liu’s life is changed forever
“Now that the craziness is over, the work begins. There is so much at stake here; we are fighting for our identity, for our right to be seen, to BELONG,” Liu tweeted.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will debut in February 2021. You can find out the full slate for MCU Phase 4 here.
Sources: Toronto Life, E! News, SCMP.
