Simu Liu reveals he had a disagreement on set of 'Kim's Convenience' the day he landed 'Shang-Chi'

The time has almost arrived for fans of Simu Liu to see him transform into a Marvel superhero in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings but he has proved time and time again that he's actually a real-life superhero too.

This time, Liu revealed that the same day that he received the call from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, was the same day he got into an argument on the set of Kim's Convenience over a racist line that he refused to say.

Liu revealed the details for his cover story with Entertainment Weekly and he said that he was on "the verge of tears" because he was having "a really rough day."

While working on the sitcom on the Toronto set, Liu refused to say a line that was a play on words on his character's name: "Egg Foo Jung."

He said the disagreement turned into halting production for nearly an hour.

"I didn't want audiences to see this character playing into that joke," Liu said. "It was terrifying. I was on the verge of tears. It was actually a really, really rough day."

Later that day, while eating shrimp crackers in his underwear, Liu got the call of a lifetime from Feige, director Destin Daniel Cretton and casting director Sarah Finn. 

They wanted him to become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that wasn't all. They wanted him to be Shang-Chi, the first Asian leading superhero in the Marvel franchise.

Four days after the phone call, Liu was at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con announcing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings alongside some of the other stars of Marvel's Phase 4 films.

"I found myself on stage with some of the most famous people in the world, wearing my $20 Zara sweater and skinny jeans," Liu said. "It was insane."

It was a full-circle moment for Liu, who has been tweeting at Marvel about representation in their films since 2014. 

"Hey @Marvel, great job with Cpt America and Thor. Now how about an Asian American hero?" he wrote on July 17, 2014. 

That didn't seem to bother Feige, who told EW that Liu is "so charismatic" and "so talented."

When it comes to Asian American representation in film, Liu acknowledges that there are potential pitfalls of playing a kung fu fighting superhero in the franchise. 

"There are two paradigms that are completely at odds with each other," he explained. "One being, as a progressive Asian American man, I've always wanted to shatter barriers and expectations of what Asian men are and be very aware of the boxes that we're put into — martial artists, sidekicks, exotic, or Orientalist."

The actor continued: "And then the other paradigm is, like, kung fu is objectively super f***ing cool. There is a reason why kung fu caught fire and the world became obsessed with it, because it's incredible to watch."

Liu sees an opportunity "to reclaim that s**t with the release of Shang-Chi.

"There was a time [as an Asian actor], I didn't want anybody to see me doing martial arts... but I grew up watching Jet Li and Jackie Chan, and I remember the immense amount of pride that I felt watching them kick ass.

"I think Shang-Chi can absolutely be that for Asian Americans. It means that kids growing up today will have what we never did — the ability to watch the screen and to really feel seen," Liu added.

Liu sees an opportunity with Shang-Chi to show more dimensionality to Asian characters, especially with the rise of xenophobia and hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"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," Liu said.

"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. And that's what I think this movie is — a celebration of our culture." 

Liu concluded by saying that he hopes to see more than just one Asian American superhero in the MCU.

"When we don't have to celebrate every single win, I think we'll be a little bit closer to our goal, but until then, there's just so much left to do," the 32-year-old actor said.

"I'm ready to be in a position where I can effect real change, amplify voices, and put people in positions to get stories told that wouldn't ordinarily get that opportunity."

BEFORE YOU GO: Simu Liu is saddened by the cancellation of ‘Kim’s Convenience’

[video_embed id='2158522']BEFORE YOU GO: Simu Liu is saddened by the cancellation of ‘Kim’s Convenience’[/video_embed]