Simu Liu comments on significance of 'Shang-Chi' and being Marvel's first Asian superhero

Simu Liu is Entertainment Weekly's August cover star—a tune-up for the presumably life-changing influx of attention coming the 32-year-old's way once he officially debuts as Marvel's first leading Asian-American superhero when Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings hits theaters Sept. 3.

The ground-breaking nature of the role is not lost on Liu, even if it does clash with age-old stereotypes associated with Asian men and martial arts.

"There are two paradigms that are completely at odds with each other," Liu told Phil Yu for this cover story. "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 Chinese-Canadian 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. ... 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 a**. 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 previously covered the June issue of Men's Health, where he opened up about the racist hate he received after Marvel announced he had been cast as Shang-Chi in July 2019.

"I got a ton of trolls," he told the publication. "They'd leave Chinese comments on my page, and I'd be so excited to translate them, because I thought 'ooh they must be voicing their support.’ And [instead] it would be like, 'Your face looks like a dog's anus, you don’t deserve this role.'"

Liu has remained positive, though, and committed to using his growing platform to encourage change: