there are superheroes among us

How Simu Liu became the first Asian actor to play a superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, turning himself into a household name in Canada and America.

Photo by Warren Wong on Unsplash

There is a flaw, a pull, in the industrial grey carpet approximately two inches in front of the second seat from the desk on the middle bench in the waiting room of Toronto’s most popular casting studio. I always sit in the chair across from this flaw and focus on it while I think about the sides, the scene I need to perform in the audition. I was sitting in my usual chair staring at the flaw in late 2017, in the half of the room full of other women that are slightly different versions of me. All white, blonde, fitting the description “athletic build” (industry code for “thin”), short, with slightly varying features and all dressed in flowery tops and jeans. You’ve never felt less unique than sitting in a casting room. 

On the other side of the room is a different casting. I look up from my favourite focus flaw and smile at my friend Wilex, one of several Asian men sitting in button-up shirts and dress pants. Another man walked into the room, smiling. Handsome, well-coiffed hair, light blue button-up, and a sleek grey backpack–the type of guy you expect to see working on Bay Street. He walked up to the sign-in sheet before sitting, joining the crowd of Asian actors in Toronto. Soon, this actor would be plucked from the crowd and star as the first Asian hero in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU). It was Simu Liu. 

Of course, at that point, Liu was hardly an unknown name in Canada. A working actor and stunt performer in Toronto, he’d been on several shows that film locally before landing one of the starring roles in Kim’s Convenience, based on the Fringe-turned-mainstream Canadian play written by showrunner Ins Choi. The show had been a breakout hit for the CBC in 2016, and became a well-loved addition to Netflix south of the border as well. Yet, while Liu was networking as much as possible in LA, there he was, sitting in a crowd of actors waiting for his name to be called. When it eventually was, it was mispronounced. 

In 2014 Liu sent a tweet to Marvel, as many fans do, saying ​​"Hey @Marvel, great job with Cpt America and Thor. Now how about an Asian American hero?" In late 2018, he followed up with a second tweet, “OK @Marvel, are we gonna talk or what #ShangChi.” By summer 2019 he had sent out a reply to his 2018 tweet, “Well shit.”–they had just announced him as the newest hero in the MCU. 

Liu’s career has only risen since the announcement. The difference between “Canadian famous” and “Hollywood famous” is vast. While being “Canadian famous,” Liu was in a casting room, waiting for his turn next to a young actor that had less than a handful of credits on her IMDb page. In December 2017, Liu wrote a guest piece in Maclean’s magazine and by August 2021, his PR representation wouldn’t agree to an interview with the magazine unless it was a cover story. 

Far from leaving his past behind him, Liu has commented on how seriously he takes the responsibility of making sure there are Asian superheroes that follow him. He has used the voice fame gives him in order to speak out against racism and problematic behaviours within the Canadian industry. Specifically, about the white-dominated writer’s room on Kim’s Convenience ignoring the lived experience of the Asian Canadian cast. These behaviours aren’t things many Canadian performers feel comfortable speaking up about. If you are Canadian famous and bad-mouth the CBC, it could be career-ending. Liu is no longer restricted by that kind of fear. 

Known for his dedication and entrepreneurial work ethic, Liu has earned every success he has achieved. This success was not overnight. The 32-year-old has been working on union sets since 2012, credited as “Desk Officer” in the TV show Nikita. His pre-Shang Chi acting and stunt demo reels are still up on his IMDb page, something usually seen on working-actors pages, but never for celebrities. That same page shows the slow route to success. Going from a handful of credits a year, day-player roles, all the way to Hollywood blockbusters.

The Toronto film industry is small. Six degrees of separation turns to just one or two. Everyone has a story about the Canadians that have “made it” in Hollywood–Simu Liu, Rachel McAdams, Mena Massoud. Was Simu Liu actually in that waiting room with me? Honestly, I don’t know. I remember seeing him there and clearly remember that casting assistant saying “Simon” instead of Simu, but memory is a faulty thing. Maybe we never shared a waiting room, but we could have–and that hard-working Canadian actor, growing up without Hollywood connections, was a superhero all along.