Simu Liu on Playing Marvel's First Asian Superhero Shang-Chi

“There is something missing in Asian America,” says Liu, who is Chinese Canadian. And those [experiences] are more core to Shang-Chi’s character than his ability to punch people.” WHEN MARVEL STUDIOS announced Shang-Chi in 2018, Liu uttered the same “WTF” as every other comic-book fan. It just felt kind of reductive and, you know, not true to life and not anything that I could relate to.” It seemed like another misstep from Marvel, which had repeatedly slighted Asians. Is there any other way to both not fall into the cliché and cast an Asian actor?’ And the answer to that, of course, is yes.” Since Marvel Studios’ inception, Feige says, the studio has had a binder of “great characters who could make great movies regardless of how famous they were.” Shang-Chi was in that binder, because stereotypes aside, it’s a very Disney story: In the comics, the character discovers his father’s true nature, fakes his own death, and runs away. Liu’s first name (pronounced SEE-mu) speaks to that separation: It’s from the Chinese characters that mean “introspection” and “envy” or “longing.” “That was them knowing that I would grow up without them and without parents,” he says, “and that I would always be longing for them—and they would always be longing for me.” That symbolism had evaporated by the time Liu was attending University of Toronto Schools. Toronto has a large Asian population, and Liu says UTS was “65 percent East Asian,” but he still felt like an outcast in high school. “Looking back now,” he says of playing Yakusa, “I wish I could slap myself in the face.” LIU STILL DREAMED about playing superheroes but had to find other ways to perform. But this job had a condition: keep the mask on, because once it came off, “the whole believability would be shattered.” The rule epitomized the lack of superhero representation for Asians, and Liu singlehandedly tried to make people see this later that year, writing, directing, and starring in his own superhero film, The Crimson Defender vs. “It’s always been a part of my life,” he says, “just that idea of being a superhero.” The next year, Liu watched a play called Kim’s Convenience, about a Toronto-area convenience store run by a Korean Canadian family. “When I think about my parents, they wanted to minimize all of their struggle; they never enjoyed talking about what they went through coming over here,” Liu says. It was a very inspiring thing to see.” THIS IS A STORY about an Asian superhero, and martial arts play a part in that, but Simu Liu did not earn the role of Shang-Chi with his kung fu skills. This is important to Liu, and to everyone on the Shang-Chi team, and it’s critical to the conversation about Liu as an Asian American leading man. Cretton, whose earlier films include The Glass Castle and Just Mercy, calls it a story about “identity.” Shang-Chi will learn that his father is the true Mandarin, a character named Wenwu, who, played by Tony Leung, is being touted as Marvel’s most multidimensional villain. “We wanted to show people a character who is distinctly Asian American right off the bat,” says Cretton. “Before you even know anything about his past, his upbringing, his martial-arts skills, we wanted people to know that this is an Asian American.” This approach allows Cretton, Liu, and the rest of the heavily Asian American team to invigorate the film with an energy and soul beyond the title character’s trope roots. “It’s such an iconic Asian American drink that I was like, You cannot make this movie without some sort of boba.” It was a last-minute add to the film, with the logos rush-printed on cups in Australia before shooting wrapped. ALL OF THIS, to Liu, is progress, and his job (his great responsibility, if you will) is to continue driving toward more progress after Shang-Chi. That means continuing to speak loudly about the Asian American experience, and continuing to grow his Hollywood profile. And pretty soon you’re going to start seeing my name pop up in projects I’m not acting in.” To truly advance Asian American representation in entertainment, he believes he needs to produce and direct and write, too, creating opportunities for others.