---
name: "Simu Liu"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/simu-liu"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "19 April 1989"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 71
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-19T12:46:22.792176+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Simu Liu

Actor. Born 19 April 1989 in Harbin, Heilongjiang, China.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 19 April 1989, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
- **Active:** 2021–present
- **Also known as:** Σίμου Λιου, 시무 류, شیمو لیو
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 2 acting, 1 other
- **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 70 (1), 2020s 71 (2)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simu_Liu, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q24004849, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4855517/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1489211

## Coming up

- *Avengers: Doomsday* (2026-12-16), as Shaun / Shang-Chi

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings*](https://film.one/film/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings.md) (66)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Simu Liu

> Simu Liu is likeable, fit and game, convincing in fight choreography and easy with a joke after five years in a sitcom, and so far the films around him have not asked for much more. *Shang-Chi* raised his profile sharply and gave him nothing to want.

Watch the bus. In *Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings* (2021), Liu's Shaun is on his way to work when Florian Munteanu's Razor Fist comes for the pendant round his neck, and the fight runs the length of a moving bus, front to back, with the brakes gone. Bill Pope keeps the frame wide, the editors hold each shot, and Liu is plainly doing the work himself. We sat up, and we were surprised by how much pleasure there was in watching a punch land and knowing where it came from. He is a trained body before he is anything else, and in a genre that usually hides its leads behind cuts, that counts.

He studied business, worked as an accountant at Deloitte, and was laid off around 2012; the first screen credit is an uncredited extra in *Pacific Rim* (2013), followed by stunt work. Then five years as Jung Kim in the Canadian sitcom *Kim's Convenience* (2016–2021), which is where the ease with a joke comes from. Marvel handed him the title role in *Shang-Chi*, and he has since turned up as one of the Kens in *Barbie* (2023) and as the diver David Yuasa in *Last Breath* (2025), a part he trained underwater for. The habit of preparing hard is the through-line.

The question is what he does when nobody is throwing anything. In *Shang-Chi* the script gives Shaun nothing to want beyond not being his father, and Liu, likeable and game, does not supply the want himself. Beside Tony Leung he looks like a pleasant actor in a film that has not decided who its lead is, and the film keeps cutting to Jayden Tianyi Zhang as the boy in training because the child has more to do than the man. Some of that is the writing. Some of it is that a sitcom teaches an actor to react, and a lead has to start things.

His subject, when he is given one, is the son who cannot satisfy the parent. He plays that in *Kim's Convenience* and again in *Shang-Chi*, and he has said of himself: "I spent the better part of my life trying to live up to my parents' expectations of who I ought to be. And I was bad at it." That is a real thing to bring to a film, and so far only the fight scenes have let him bring it with his whole body.

He is due to play Shang-Chi again. What we would like next time is a script that gives him something to want that is not simply a different father. Until then, watch the bus.

## Biography

Simu Liu is a Chinese-born Canadian actor. Born on 19 April 1989 in Harbin, China, he was raised in Mississauga, Ontario.

He rose to prominence playing the title role in the Marvel film *Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings* (2021). Liu has also appeared as Jung Kim in the CBC sitcom *Kim's Convenience* (2016–2021), as a Ken doll in *Barbie* (2023), and as David Yuasa in the survival thriller *Last Breath* (2025). In 2022 he published the memoir *We Were Dreamers*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Performed in (2) — the average rests on these

- *Barbie* (2023), Fi1m 76, as Ken — [page](https://film.one/film/barbie.md)
- *Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings* (2021), Fi1m 66, as Shaun / Shang-Chi — [page](https://film.one/film/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Pacific Rim* (2013), Fi1m 70, as Extra (Uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/pacific-rim.md)

## Complete filmography (45)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Avengers: Doomsday* (2026), as Shaun / Shang-Chi
- *The Copenhagen Test* (2025), series, as Alexander Hale · Executive Producer
- *In Your Dreams* (2025), as Dad (voice)
- *Marvel Zombies* (2025), series, as Shang-Chi (voice)
- *Last Breath* (2025), as David Yuasa — coming soon, [page](https://film.one/film/last-breath-2025.md)
- *Laid* (2024), series, as Philippe
- *New Wave* (2024), Executive Producer
- *Jackpot!* (2024), as Louis Lewis
- *Atlas* (2024), as Harlan Shepherd
- *Arthur the King* (2024), as Leo
- *Barbie* (2023), as Ken — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/barbie.md)
- *Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai* (2023), series, as Chang (voice)
- *One True Loves* (2023), as Sam Lee · Executive Producer, Lyricist, Vocals
- *Simulant* (2023), as Casey · Executive Producer
- *StoryBots: Answer Time* (2022), series, Actor
- *Hello (Again)* (2022), series, Writer, Executive Producer, Creator
- *Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings* (2021), as Shaun / Shang-Chi — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings.md)
- *What If...?* (2021), series, as Shang-Chi (voice)
- *INVINCIBLE* (2021), series, as Multi-Paul (voice)
- *Women Is Losers* (2021), as Gilbert
- *Marvel Studios Legends* (2021), series, as Shaun / Shang-Chi (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens* (2020), series, as Garbage Boy
- *The Other Two* (2019), series, as Simu Liu
- *Seven in Heaven* (2018), Stunt Double
- *Corner Gas Animated* (2018), series, as Gerald Mesmerizer (voice)
- *Meeting Mommy* (2017), as John · Executive Producer, Writer
- *Taken* (2017), series, as Faaron
- *Kim's Convenience* (2016), series, as Jung Kim
- *The Bathroom Butcher: Chapter 8* (2016), as Man
- *The Expanse* (2015), series, as Lt. Paolo Mayer — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-expanse.md)
- *Antisocial 2* (2015), as Male Nurse
- *Dark Matter* (2015), series, as Technician
- *Fresh Off the Boat* (2015), series, as Willie
- *Pacific Rim* (2013), as Extra (Uncredited) — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/pacific-rim.md)
- *Orphan Black* (2013), series, as Mr. Mitchell — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/orphan-black.md)
- *Raider Origins* (2013), as Head Mercenary
- *Nikita* (2010), series, as Desk Officer
- *Warehouse 13* (2009), series, as Bartender
- *Mayday* (2003), series, as Narita Air Traffic Controller
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Adult Hubert Wong (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *She's Fine*, series, as Dr. Zhou
- *Sleeping Dogs*, as Wei Shen · Producer
- *Homewrecker*, Actor
- *Inside Job*, as Dr. Andre Lee
- *Untitled Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Sequel*, as Shaun / Shang-Chi

## Gallery

- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-bad77c015f1b.jpg) Simu Liu — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Simu_Liu_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/1280px-Simu_Liu_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simu Liu speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Dieg](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-7780622e2bbc.jpg) Simu Liu speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Dieg — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Simu_Liu_%2848469082216%29.jpg/1280px-Simu_Liu_%2848469082216%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simu Liu speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Dieg](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-066e7439ff38.jpg) Simu Liu speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Dieg — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Simu_Liu_%2848469091851%29.jpg/1280px-Simu_Liu_%2848469091851%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simu Liu speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Dieg](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-b6efff0c3436.jpg) Simu Liu speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Dieg — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Simu_Liu_%2848469215642%29.jpg/1280px-Simu_Liu_%2848469215642%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-540d92f7de56.jpg) Simu Liu — Image via TMDB
- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-e9d36c230e9f.jpg) Simu Liu — Image via TMDB
- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-bd81d2996b6b.jpg) Simu Liu — Image via TMDB
- ![Simu Liu speaking with attendees at the 2024 Phoenix Fan Fusion at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used ](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-d914470b78ba.jpg) Simu Liu speaking with attendees at the 2024 Phoenix Fan Fusion at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used  — Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Simu_Liu_%2853762068112%29.jpg/1280px-Simu_Liu_%2853762068112%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-c8823b53338d.jpg) Simu Liu — Image via TMDB
- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-76389bfb3311.jpg) Simu Liu — Image via TMDB
- ![Simu Liu](https://film.one/media/person/290518/gallery-317bcd94c16a.jpg) Simu Liu — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Other awards — 1 won, 2 nominated

- Time 100 2022: Time 100 (won)
- ACTRA Award 2017: ACTRA Award (nominated), for *Blood and Water*
- Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series 2017: Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Program or Series (nominated), for *Blood and Water*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/simu-liu