Canadian actor Simu Liu graced us with his presence by playing the title role in the Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. This Hollywood newcomer got himself ripped to play that Marvel superhero, and will have to go through yet another preparation process for his mysterious role in Barbie. We don’t know much about what Simu Liu’s role is going to be in the upcoming movie, but we do know it definitely involves getting waxed.
Simu Liu has never been one to hide his striking shirtless appearance on social media. In his secretive role in Barbie, we’ll be seeing more of that in his fully-waxed form. The Shang-Chi actor spoke in an interview with Independent about the experience of getting waxed for his new role in Barbie, saying:
Waxing has been an education to say the least. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I have such a newfound admiration for the incredibly brave women who go through this on a monthly basis.
So, what do we know about Simu Liu’s role in Barbie? Independent culture reporter Adam White spoke to Liu through Zoom as the actor took a break from filming the upcoming romantic comedy. He was wearing a designer bowling shirt and his hair styled in a “fluffy quiff.” It's also worth noting that although Ryan Gosling has been cast in the role of Ken, there are rumors that Liu could be playing a different version of Ken. On the other hand, what if Liu has been cast in a different role, like Ken's best friend?
Either way, Simu Liu described the movie as a "meta-comedy with shades of The Truman Show." We already know the role involves Simu Liu partaking in a dance sequence, as his university hip-hop dance team experience helped him get the part. Whatever the Chinese-Canadian actor has to do for Barbie, he said in his interview that he’s practically relishing the mysterious aspect of this film in general, saying that “the less you know about it the better.”
Now that we know a tidbit about Simu Liu’s role in Barbie, what do we really know about the Marvel superhero actor? After all, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was the actor’s first major film role. Simu Liu has shared his experiences as an immigrant in his memoir We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story about the conflict between him and his strict parents. He described in his book how his parents felt disappointed in him for having poor grades in school and finding passion in the arts instead of his high-paying accounting career. However, the 33-year-old’s parents eventually become proud of him for exceeding their expectations of him as an actor, as he nailed the role of Jung Kim in the Canadian Screen Award-nominated series Kim’s Convenience.
Simu Liu also wrote in his memoir about his experience finding out he was in the MCU. He flew to New York and screen-tested for Marvel Studios. Two days later, he finished his scenes for Kim’s Convenience and lounged around until he got a phone call from Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, telling him he got the part of Shang-Chi. He said he knew that call was coming, but he could never anticipate what it would feel like to actually hear Feige’s voice on the other side of the phone.
With his highly successful career as a superhero and as a possible live-action doll in Barbie, Simu Liu’s parents would have to be proud of their son’s success. Be sure to get a laugh out of watching Simu Liu dance on the big screen in his fully-waxed physique in Barbie, which premieres on July 21, 2023.
