Simu Liu
I went through an evolutionary process of learning to have a voice and how to use it, knowing when to step in. I don't always get it right, for sure. However, it's better to speak your mind than hold your tongue and wish you had said something.Collection: Learning
Representation matters. And it's about more than just actors on a screen. It's about snacks, it's about food, it's about culture, in every possible way.Collection: Food
I was a dress-up Spider-Man for kids' birthday parties for a while.Collection: Birthday
A superhero represents infinite possibility. It represents the peak of aspiration and courage. And if you see yourself reflected as a superhero, you will give yourself permission to dream anything.Collection: Courage
I studied finance and accounting in college, and I worked at a massive accounting firm out of graduation.Collection: Graduation
I'm outing myself as a huge comic book nerd.
What I'm trying to say is, I'm really happy I'm not a doctor. So, take that mom and dad.
Anti-Asian racism is very real, and it will not be solved with an opulent rom-com or Marvel superhero, but with you - the bystanders - acknowledging the validity of our pain.
All around me, I saw people who were taught by their parents, as I was, to just toe the line, not ruffle the feathers, not rock the boat too much and just put your head down, do your work and that's it. And I think that as a community, we're reaching the limitations of that kind of thinking.
Every community should have a superhero. And the truth is, for many of us in the Asian community, we didn't grow up with that.
I remember doing 5th grade math when I was like seven years old. My parents just constantly pushed me, in a good way, to always demand excellence in everything that I did.
The most important thing is to show up. You've just got to get your butt out there.
I realized, if I don't step into the spotlight, and the person next to me doesn't step in, and the people around me don't step in, then who will?
You're talking to a guy that graduated from business school by the skin of his teeth, only to crash and burn at his first consulting job. What about that C.V. makes me a good representative of Asian Americans and Canadians?
Hawkeye is the best 'Avenger' because he does not rely on superpowers or extraordinary abilities.
I think so often we have these ambitions or these hopes within us that we kill before we ever let it escape our lips because we are afraid.
I'm somebody who feels caught between two worlds a lot of the time.
I'm Asian-Canadian.
When I was 16 years old, I thought that backflips were like the coolest thing. So I spent like months and months of my life like, literally flipping onto my head.
Obviously, learning the martial arts is a big part of my training, but the other part of being a Marvel superhero is, well, looking like a superhero.
So when we were building that superhero workout, that Marvel body, it was really important for us not to sacrifice range of motion and explosiveness, because I've still got to be able to throw a punch at the end of the day.
As an actor of color, I was overlooked at every possible opportunity. I was given roles that were almost not roles. It was, like, Scared Asian Guy. Whether I was a scared Asian guy in front of a computer or a scared Asian guy getting robbed in the grocery store, I always played these pathetic, low-status characters.
I spent the better part of my young life searching for people's approval and validation, and not getting any of it.
I've always had a bit of delusional confidence.
I auditioned for 'Crazy Rich Asians' four times and it was very, very hard for me to not get it, because it was like, these 'Crazy Rich Asians' people were the cool kids and I was the one being left out.
My dad is amazing. He has, like, ancient Chinese skills.
My parents were electrical engineers, immigrants from China, and we were always just in a state of struggle, building our life.
If I just track Shang-Chi's journey in the context of table tennis in my life, it actually fits perfectly, and that's why I was able to sink into the character so, so seamlessly.
There is something missing in Asian America. They're missing people to tell them, 'It's okay to be who you are - you belong. Just be unapologetically you; you're not less than anybody else.'
I am that person that struggled with my identity my whole life.
I am that person that's always felt like he wasn't enough.
The main character is always, you know, this blond-haired, blue-eyed guy who's the high school quarterback or the star of the basketball team. That's all I wanted to be, really, truly. I definitely was not that.
It was an extreme pleasure to be a part of the MCU, and if and when the call comes for me to return to the universe, I will be more than ready.
I've always just been such a big fan of the MCU and anything Marvel, really.
When I was like 22 years old, I wrote this bible for a Sunfire series. So, Sunfire is actually one of the members of the first X-Men team, and he's a Japanese mutant who got his powers from a young age and grew up in an environment raised by his uncle to hate America.
My parents are two academics that came to Canada to pursue academic opportunities.
There is a reason why kung fu caught fire and the world became obsessed with it, because it's incredible to watch.
When the world is telling us, 'We hate you because you're Asian, we hate you because we think you brought this virus to the world'... we need to kind of meet that with an equal and opposing force.
It's hard enough to celebrate being Asian in normal times. But now, when the whole world is kind of coming down, with all this rhetoric and people getting attacked on the street, you really need to deliberately try to celebrate Asian-ness.
Just because there's one Asian American superhero in the MCU, it does not by any means imply that our fight is finished right there.
As an Asian man in the industry, you had to know martial arts.
What I've always really appreciated about MCU superheroes versus elsewhere is that they are trying to disrupt the idea of what a superhero can be.
There was a cute girl on the crew that I was trying to impress during a very elaborate stunt. I winked at her and, when I started running, proceeded to lose my balance, fall, banged my knee, and ended up sprawled out 12 feet in the air.
We saw David Carradine, who is not of Asian descent, playing an Asian man on the show 'Kung Fu' that originally should have, and was developed for, Bruce Lee. To have that be the legacy that quote-unquote inspired 'Shang-Chi' in the beginning obviously doesn't put us off to a great start.
I grew up loving Jackie Chan and Jet Li and certainly Bruce Lee. But as I got older, I started to question: Is that all we have?
We have a lot of heroes. We have Asian heroes, we have Asian American heroes, men, women, of all ages, and not all of them do martial arts. But that doesn't mean that they don't have their own arcs, their own stories, their own subtleties and nuances. And I think that's what's important.
I got into this business when I was 22 years old, and I didn't have a woke bone in my body. And all I wanted to do was be on screen and for people to pay attention to me, but we evolve and our cause evolves and the conversations today are certainly very different.
You know, it's not every day that you get to lead an MCU movie.
You know, 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople' was a great movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I'm a big Taika fan, even before he did 'Ragnarok.'