Chinese-Canadian star Simu Liu went from super-polite to superhero in Marvel’s first Asian film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” he recounted in his debut hosting gig on “Saturday Night Live.”
Liu jokingly credited a sweet tweet for helping him eventually nab the top role.
“The truth is, I got Shang-Chi how every Canadian gets their big break — by asking politely,” he quipped.
In 2014 he tweeted a congratulations to Marvel on the success of its films.
“Hey, Marvel, great job with ‘Captain America’ and ‘Thor.’ Now, how about an Asian superhero?” he asked.
Five years later, he was starring as Shang-Chi.
“After I got the part,” Liu said, “I went online and tweeted: ‘Thanks for getting back to me.’” He added: “Clearly, I’m Canadian.”
Things haven’t always been easy, he confessed.
Ten years ago he was paying the rent by playing Spider-Man at kids birthday parties while their parents were “day drinking,” he recalled.
A low point was the time a kid named Trevor continually kicked him in the shins, saying: “You’re not Spider-Man.” It was something that can “break your spirit,” Liu admitted.
But he had a message for that kid on “SNL.”
“You were right. I’m not Spider-Man,” Liu said.
“I’m Shang-Chi, bitch!”
Check it out in the video up top.
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.