- Hi, I'm Simu Liu,
and this is the WIRED Autocomplete Interview.
[upbeat music]
Let me do it one more time, let me do it one more time.
I feel like the first one was magic,
and the fact that you weren't rolling,
I'm just so sad.
All right, all right.
[upbeat music]
Hi, I'm Simu Liu,
and this is my WIRED Autocomplete Interview.
- [Female Producer] That was magic, that was perfect! Okay.
- Fine.
All right, first we have, 'how Simu Liu'.
So, how [paper rips] tall is Simu Liu?
That's a wonderful question.
Top of the morning, straight out of bed,
with a nice platform on the shoe,
I could hit about six feet,
but probably, usually walking around
I'm a lot closer to 5' 11".
Which is really, it's not great.
It's not great.
The difference between 5'11" and six foot,
it's so disheartening feeling like you're right on the cusp.
Really unfortunate,
but clearly I've worked my way through this insecurity,
as you can obviously tell.
Let's move on.
How did Sima Liu [paper rips] start acting?
Basically, I was working as an accountant out of college.
I hated my job.
Was also terrible at my job,
and then about eight months in,
before I turned 23, I got fired.
And kind of on a whim, I signed up to be an extra.
The first time I was on set,
I just absolutely fell in love with all of it
and basically made a promise to myself that I was just going
to keep trying to find opportunities to be on set.
It's almost been 10 years now,
and I'm still just looking for opportunities.
So, yeah.
if you know anybody that knows anybody,
please let them know.
How Simu Liu [paper rips] got Shang-Chi?
I auditioned for it.
I was a three-step audition process.
At first, I was asked to send in a self-tape.
I had no idea what I was auditioning for,
but I kinda knew it was for something important,
something perhaps Marvel related.
But I didn't know for sure.
Kinda didn't hear back for a while,
and then all of a sudden was invited to LA
for a callback audition.
I met Destin Daniel Cretton,
the director of the movie.
We had an incredible audition and I came out of that
feeling like, 'oh my God', like, just that electric feeling
of like, you just nailed a job interview or something.
I just kind of came out feeling like that.
Lo and behold, a couple of days later,
I got invited to New York to do a screen test.
And the screen test is basically like your
final round audition.
It's like, all the decision makers are present.
You show up, you get your hair and makeup done.
You get wardrobe, everything, the whole nine yards
as if you were working on set.
I remember Awkwafina was there,
that was the first time that I met her,
and I was just absolutely so star struck
'cause she's so cool.
And then we did the scenes, and then two days after that,
I got a call from Kevin Feige that I got the part.
It's still crazy to me, but here we are.
Next, how [paper rips] did Simu Liu get famous?
Do a really good 'whoa' for TikTok,
you know, that's about it.
All right now for some geography questions.
Where was Simu Liu [paper rips] raised?
I was born in Harbin, China.
I was raised by my grandparents.
My dad showed up at our door,
and was like, 'Hi, I'm your dad'.
First of all, crazy, mind blown.
And then he was like,
'I'm here to take you to your new life in Canada'.
So I was like, 'Okay'.
So when I was about four and a half, five,
I emigrated to Canada with my parents.
First city was Kingston, Ontario,
where my parents were doing grad school.
And then we lived in Etobicoke,
and then my parents were able to buy a house
in Mississauga, Ontario, where they actually still live.
Where does Simu Liu live [paper rips] in Toronto?
That's private.
No, I have a nice little apartment downtown
and it's really fun,
and I never get to spend any time there anymore.
And I miss it very much.
Where is Simu Liu [paper rips] in Pacific Rim?
[Simu laughs]
Okay, so deep cut.
Thank you for bringing that up.
So Pacific Rim, awesome, incredible movie.
It also happens to be the first movie
that I was an extra on.
So there's the first set that I had ever set foot on,
and I skipped work to be on that set,
which is probably one of the reasons why I got fired,
but I dragged my best friend, Jason, with me.
I remember we got, we basically were told to strip down
and then we were spray painted blue from head to toe,
for whatever reason.
I think it was because blue is like the color of the
alien blood.
We get told later that it's actually not like water soluble,
and the only way to get it off your body was
to use shaving cream.
Anyway, long story short,
kind of came out of that experience,
we're like, 'Okay, great,
like I hope we make it to the screen'.
Months later, we you're watching Pacific Rim in the theater.
I don't see me at all, I'm not kidding.
There is a extreme closeup on Jason where he is holding
like an animatronic alien bug thing,
and it's literally just three seconds [bell dings]
on his face and there's nobody else in the shot.
When I say that I was jealous,
it doesn't even begin to describe.
I was like, 'I dragged you. You are here because of me'.
Where,[Simu laughs] where did Simu Liu?
Okay, I'm trying to really pull back here,
and I'm trying to, where did Simu Liu?
Hmm. Toronto.
I would say 2012, getting laid off,
was it was a pivotal moment in my life
because it was the moment that I realized that
I can't spend my life working on somebody else's
version of success.
It was the first time that I made the decision
to do something for me, and only me,
and it was the best decision I ever made.
[board hits floor] [hands clap]
Is Simu Liu?
So the burning questions of the internet,
is Simu Liu [paper rips] in Season Five
of Kim's Convenience?
I am.
We were actually able to shoot a piece of that season
while I was still in Australia.
It was the only time that Kim's Convenience was shot
in a country outside of Canada,
and it was super cool.
Is Simu Liu [paper rips] an accountant?
No, I'm a failed accountant.
[paper rips] Is Simu Liu in Dr. Strange?
Seeing as Dr. Strange came out many years ago,
you can clearly see that I am not in Dr. Strange.
Now, if the question were,
is Simu Liu in Dr. Strange 2,
I would have the exact same answer,
because I am also not in Dr. Strange 2.
[silence]
I'm kidding, I'm really in- I'm not. [Simu laughs]
Is Simu Liu mean?
Yes, I am the worst.
I never tip.
I never tell you when your shoe laces are untied.
No, none of those things are true.
I don't know, I don't know.
I think if you were to ask my friends, they would say no,
but maybe I was mean to somebody at some point in time.
Was [paper rips] Simu Liu in a stock photo?
Not only was Simu Liu in a stock photo,
Simu Liu, quite possibly,
is the most successful stock photo model of all time,
because I just keep popping up in random places.
On corporate e-learning websites, textbook covers,
pamphlets, brochures, various reading paraphernalia.
These stock photos will not die.
I am stuck with them for the rest of my life,
and there's nothing I can do about it.
So, there you go.
Will Simu Liu [paper rips] be in more Marvel movies?
Now, that is a million dollar question.
I don't know how the sausage is made, all right?
I just know that we did a great job with Shang-Chi.
I know that everyone is super, super happy with it,
and I know that there's a lot more story to tell
with the characters.
So if I were a betting man,
I would say that I would.
Ready? [paper rips]
Simu Liu Celebrity Game Face.
Yes, I did a game show called Celebrity Game Face.
I'm still mad about it, because I won every other round,
and in the last, final, round, for some reason,
it was worth like 10 times as many points,
we were asked to scavenger hunt for things.
I was in a house.
I'm not trying to point any fingers, Wanda Sykes.
Some contestants were in hotel rooms,
where everything was like two feet away.
Not me.
I had to go up the stairs, I had to come-
Anyway, I didn't win.
Even though, if you watch the episode, I should have.
[paper rips] Simu Liu Beauty and the Beast.
Not your version of Beauty and the Beast,
not Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
Beauty and the Beast on the CW was a show that I was on.
I played EMT number one.
My director was Deborah Chow.
She is currently working on Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.
Hey Deborah, got any room in there?
I don't know.
My character only had five lines,
and that was because in the industry,
if you're an actor, and you have five lines or under,
you're considered an 'under five'.
And so you get paid a slightly lower amount.
So I just started like improv-ing,
and I just started throwing lines out there.
I waited around and when the episode came out,
all of my improv made it into the final cut,
and so I was like, 'Yes!'
And I called my union rep and I was like,
'I have more than five lines in this'.
And because of that, I got like 700 extra dollars,
which at the time, was like a lot of money.
So, it was pretty sneaky.
Okay, Simu Liu [paper rips] Marvel tweet.
Yes, in 2014, I tweeted, 'Hey' at Marvel,
'Great job with Captain America and Thor.
How about an Asian superhero'?
And it was very tongue in cheek,
and nobody ever read it,
but then five years later I became Shang-Chi.
So, pretty crazy.
I'm starting to feel a little like Nostradamus,
and I'm wondering what other crazy prophecies I have.
You'll have to get back to me.
I have a very specific process, and I cannot be rushed.
Next question.
Simu Liu [paper rips] jumping over hedge.
Yes, this is a reference to the Met Gala.
We kind of came out of the Met,
there are these steps that lead to the street level,
and I saw Jimmy Fallon kind of like maneuvering himself
over the ledge to say hi to the fans
that had kind of lined up.
And so I thought, 'Oh my God, that's incredible'.
So I did the same thing.
I kind of parkoured toward myself over the ledge,
and I went over and I spent some time with the fans.
Final and perhaps most importantly,
'what Simu Liu'?
Ready?
What is Simu Liu [paper rips] known for?
What is Simu Liu known for?
I'm known for being way too stupid on social media,
for never finishing my drinks.
I always leave a little bit at the bottom.
And maybe for this show Kim's Convenience,
which ran for five seasons,
and also for this little movie called
Shang-Chi and The Legend of the 10 Rings,
which is on Disney+ now.
Next, oh God, we're doing [paper rips] not great
in terms of the, maybe it's the way that I'm peeling them,
but you know what?
I can read it.
What movies has Simu Liu been in?
Well, there's the Marvel movie,
[silence] and that's it.
I have a lot of dream roles in my head.
I mean I always wanted to play like a Tom Cruise-esque,
you know, spy guy.
I've always wanted to be in space.
I've always wanted to be a Jedi.
Basically all the things that I dressed up as
when I was a kid,
those are things that I want to do again,
as an adult, and get paid money for.
What martial arts does Simu Liu [paper rips] know?
To be honest, I didn't know that many going into the movie.
I had done some like boxing, some stage fighting,
some Muay Thai, basically anything that would get me work
as a stunt man in Toronto, but once I got the part,
I went into this massive training intensive,
and a lot of it revolved around Chinese Kung Fu
and Chinese Martial Arts.
I got to do a Tai Chi, quite a bit of it,
Wing Chun, Hung Gar.
I got to be very mediocre at a lot of it,
but I worked really, really hard,
and I really, I did my best.
So hopefully you liked it.
What does Simu Liu [paper rips] eat?
I know a lot of you will assume that I'm probably on some
super strict diet, and that was certainly true
for parts of our production,
but I think in life, I really love food.
So, I'm a big like Korean Barbecue guy,
love going to K-Town.
I love hotpot.
I love like big group meals that, you know,
you have a bunch of friends sitting around a table.
I just feel like that's kind of the best.
Last one here.
What languages [paper rips] does Simu Liu speak?
En Espanol, it would be, Cual idiomas?
Not Spanish.
I was born in Harbin China,
so I grew up speaking Mandarin,
and when I emigrated to Canada, when I was about five,
that, my primary language,
switched over pretty fast to English.
So unfortunately my Mandarin is slowly deteriorating,
and I'm looking forward to going back to China
and getting a little refresher.
I had a lot of fun answering all of
Google's burning questions,
and I'm really looking forward to doing it again sometime.
Oh, and watch Shang-Chi and The Legend of the 10 Rings.
Honestly, it's the best.
And thanks so much.
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