Simu Liu, the Chinese-Canadian villain in 'Atlas'

Simu Liu stars with Jennifer Lopez in the Netflix movie 'Atlas'. He plays the villain Harlan Shepherd, who, as part of the show's premise, goes after his co-star. This is Liu's first villainous role and his most recent work following the hugely successful 'Barbie'!

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu! He starred in the anticipated 'Barbie' movie along with an amazing celebrity cast, and he also made it to the Time 100 list of 2022.

In 'Barbie,' the movie based on the famous Mattel doll, the cast is very diverse, just as in the real doll collection. There's more than one Ken, and Simu Liu stands next to Ryan Gosling to play that handsome guy.

Time magazine also included him in its list of 100 most influential people in 2022. That's a great accomplishment. As fellow actress Sandra Oh says to Time, "he’s been on a path that no Chinese Canadian has walked before. He's part of the first generation of Asian Americans and Canadians to reach true stardom."

(On the photo, with Channing Tatum at the 2021 Met Gala)

In 2022, Simu Liu reached global stardom with the Marvel film 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.'  The Chinese-Canadian actor played the first Asian lead role in a superhero movie.

The film is based on the Marvel character by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin in the early 1970s. He's the son of the mythical supervillain Fu Manchu, well known to Marvel fans for his repeated attempts to take over the world. Raised and trained by him, Shang-Chi will eventually become a rival of his father, against whom he will fight to put an end to his evil plans.

Shang-Chi took many steps in the world of cinema before he managed to become a film hero. Stan Lee had already considered his adaptation in the eighties with Brandon Lee as the protagonist. Stephen Norrington also tried it in 2001, as well as Yuen Woo-ping in subsequent years, with the support of Ang Lee, but it never materialized. Finally, 'Shang-Chi and the legend of the Ten Rings' finally took shape in 2018.

In its film adaptation, Hawaiian director Destin Creton takes the character of Shang-Chi back in time to the end of the events from the movie 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019). In this context, the kung-fu master played by Simu Liu joins the Ten Rings organization, a clandestine group that leads him to face his past.

The film schedule was affected by Covid-19, as it had originally been planned for release in February 2021, coinciding with the Chinese New Year. However, it ended up getting delayed until September of that year.

Simu Liu shared the screen in 'Shang-Chi' with Hong Kong star Tony Leung ('2046,' 'Hero'), Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', 'Memoirs of a Geisha'), and Asian-American star Awkwafina ('Ocean's 8', 'Jumanji: the Next Level').

Simu Liu was born in China but moved to Canada when he was five years old. He now has Canadian nationality.

Liu studied finance and accounting, and he even worked for the prestigious Deloitte company. However, it was not his preferred line of work, and eventually he entered the realm of acting and film.

(Image: Simu Liu, Instagram)

Simu Liu's first appearance on the big screen was in the film 'Pacific Rim' (2013) by Guillermo del Toro. He was an extra there. After getting a taste for acing, he began to do small roles until reaching his first lead role as Paul Xie in 'Blood and Water' (2015). He also did some specialist work in series like 'Heroes Reborn' (2015).

(Image: Simu Liu, Instagram)

Canada would get to know Simu Liu thanks to his big television role in 2016: he played Jung Kim, one of the protagonists of the sitcom 'Kim's Convenience.'

The Canadian-produced sitcom had five seasons and showed the experiences of the Kims, a Korean-Canadian family who have a store in the city of Toronto. The business, like its family and its neighborhood, Regent Park, undergoes a series of changes that are difficult for the father, Appa, to face.

Another important role for Simu Liu in 2016 was that of CIA analyst Faaron in the NBC series 'Taken'. He participated in its first season on a recurring basis and would appear in a total of ten episodes.

Simu Liu was recognized for his acting talent at the ACTRA Awards for his work in 'Kim's Convenience.' He was also nominated for 'Blood and Water.'

The successes of the year 2016 were translated into new successes for 2017. Liu participated in the fifth and final season of the successful 'Orphan Black' series, while also triumphing in the world of theater with 'Banana Boys'. This same year we could also see him in two episodes of 'Slasher', as Luke, and in three of 'Bad Blood', playing the role of Guy.

In recent years, he worked with Awkwafina in 'Nora from Queens' (2020) and starred in the cast of 'Fresh Off the Boat' (2019). He would see Awkwafina again in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.'

Simu Liu's participation in the now-famous 'Shang-Chi' was announced during the San Diego Comic Con in 2019. Interestingly, Liu applied for the role via Twitter a year earlier, when the making of the film was announced. The idea of playing a superhero had already been on his bucket list for a while.

With Simu Liu starring in 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,' Marvel has helped advance the cause of Asian actors in Hollywood and the lucrative superhero-industry. He's an example to many children in the world.

Simu Liu is using his fame for good causes. Here, he is campaigning to get food for children in need in California, for example. The photo (from 2021) reminds a bit of his work before film, when Liu would model for stock images as a random guy on the street, eating, and with friends. He hasn't lost it!

What else is on the horizon for Simu Liu? He's tried his hand at writing (as a collaborator on the trilingual script for 'Blood and Water') as well as directing and producing with his production company 4:12 Entertainment.

And it is with his most recent role that he has broadened his acting repertoire to include villains! Simu Liu plays Jennifer Lopez's archnemesis in Netflix's latest film, 'Atlas'.

Image: Netflix

According to a CBR interview, Simu Liu recalls his first experience playing a villain on 'Atlas' as "freeing". Simu Liu's portrayal in 'Atlas' received amazing praise, so perhaps more evil roles are on the way for him!

Image: Netflix

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