Simu Liu
Chinese-Canadian actor and author
Simu Liu (born April 19, 1989) is a Canadian actor, writer, and stuntman who is well known for his roles as Shang-Chi in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and as Jung Kim in the award-winning CBC Television sitcom Kim's Convenience.
Quotes
editJuly 2015
edit- (1:39:25AM)
I recently did a show in which I played a pedophile, and did a significant amount of research (clinical studies mind you, not the "method" stuff) on the disorder and how it's perceived in the media. In the end the role completely changed the way I look at pedophilia and has made me much more sympathetic to anyone who is born with those urges.
From a biological standpoint it’s no different than being gay — a small mutation in the genome that determines our sexual preferences. Depending on what area of the world you were born and what time, it also may have been a perfectly acceptable thing to act on those urges. Now we all know that taking advantage of minors is wrong. Disgusting and vile, even. But with the exception of Germany we are going about it completely COMPLETELY the wrong way. It's like we having learned anything by studying homosexuality - we're talking about exploring the same "cures" to pedophilia as we were about homosexuality 20 years ago, a la conversion therapy and whatnot.
As a part of my research I discovered that these people have literally nowhere to turn, even non-offending pedophiles. They cannot seek treatment in most of the word because the therapist or psychiatrist would be legally required to report any
(1:51:46AM)
Hey - done a fair amount of research for a role that I did (I'm an actor. No, not Kevin Bacon haha) and I wanted to provide any assistance if I can.
What we currently know about the disorder is this - like homosexuality, it exists on a spectrum. For example, we all know that the whole "barely legal" subgenre of adult entertainment is HUGE. Anybody who jerks off to pictures of an 18 y/o and turns around and says all pedophiles ought to be killed is a fucking hypocrite IMO. But I digress; from what you've typed here it seemed that you have a mild preference and you are able to be satisfied with adults. Some people with the disorder find themselves ONLY attracted to children, and that could be potentially problematic especially in a society where there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO GET HELP.
Please continue to talk/write using throwaways and please avoid child pornography - it may seem innocent but even watching it is propogating the entire industry which I'm sure you agree is disgusting. Plus the conseqences you face if caught are life-changing; worse than death if you ask me.
You have a good head on your shoulders - I wish you the best and know you will not make any decisions you will regret.- 14 July 2015 as "NippedInTheBud" on Reddit, per September 2021 article by Trudy Ring of Advocate
May 2021
edit- In a way, those stories will be lost in time if we don’t fight for them, because white people aren’t going to write it for us. So in a lot of ways, I feel like it’s our responsibility to kind of, to document and to expose it, what has been going on in our world and our collective world and communities, and to share that story.
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Kung fu for kung fu’s sake, as an aesthetic or a prop, that’s where it starts to get tropey and dangerous. [But] there’s a reason why when Hong Kong action was introduced to Western audiences, people went bananas for it. Kung fu is, objectively, really cool.
- Growing up, I was obsessed with being desirable. Over the course of auditioning for [Shang Chi], I never really thought I had a chance the whole time, because I never felt like I was the best looking or the tallest or the best at martial arts.
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I have days where I really feel sexy and on top of the world, and I have days where I don’t. But more than everything I can be at peace with who I am as a whole—my charisma, my humor, my soul.
- Even when I was a struggling actor, I was writing scripts, which were terrible, but I was fueled by a belief that I had to create the door. The right door wasn’t always going to open for me. Sometimes I was going to have to just crash through it or build one where there was no door before.
June 2021
edit- From the moment that Marvel Studios decided that there needed to be a voice for Asian characters and a lead Asian character in the space of the [Marvel Cinematic Universe], they have all kind of considered what the best way was ... to incorporate a story that both celebrates Asianness and all of its wonderful dimensions, and its facets and its nuances, and also celebrates martial arts.
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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? Is that all that the world sees in us — that that is the only value that we have, particularly in the entertainment industry?
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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.
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I'm trying to take everything that my parents gave me and take the next step forward for my children, so that they may feel more included and more equal. It's just never even occurred to me not to speak out. I don't think I should be held to any sort of pedestal. I just think that I'm going to be one of those voices that are unapologetic, that are supportive of our community, because we just haven't had that many over time. And certainly I think we're at that stage where we are starting to learn as a community as a whole, that we are stronger together than we are apart.
- Wouldn’t they want that first Asian superhero to be somebody who looked the part a little bit more? 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.
- I was probably more optimistic than I should have been. I’ve always had a bit of delusional confidence. I think it’s the same delusional confidence I had when I first decided to become an actor as a 23-year-old failed accountant with absolutely zero training or idea about how the business worked.
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I was at a point where I was like, “I don’t deserve this role. What about me makes me worthy?” And ultimately, what I came to was that my self-worth doesn’t come from my appearance. It comes from whatever is going on underneath, whether you want to call it personality or charisma—that was going to be the thing that won me the role.
