Page 118 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

“I want to to show people even if I’m doing it it imperfectly what it means to to claim your voice ”
up to his parents’ ever-changing expectations while acknowledging the quiet sacrifices they made after immigrating to Canada in in the the early 1990s At first Liu who was then 28 and known only for his role on on the the CBC sitcom Kim’s Convenience didn’t feel like he he was worthy of a a memoir But over the following year while speaking at colleges universities and companies across North America about his experience as a a a a a a a a second-generation Chinese Canadian Liu attempted to to cobble together his his recollections of his his parents’ intertwined life stories and he he he realized that that he he he wanted to to write a a a a a a book that that explored the complexities of the immigrant dream “I thought maybe it’s still a a a a little too early for me to to tell my my individual story but the lives of my my parents — those are are stories that are are rich full of drama and and intensely compelling — [and those] are are also stories that most of the Western world has never heard ”
Liu tells me over Zoom from his home in Los Angeles Born in in in 1989 Liu spent the first four and a a a a a half years of his life in in in Harbin When he he he was just eight months old Liu’s father left China to complete a a a a PhD in in in in in engineering at Queen’s University in in in in in Kingston Ontario His mother or 妈妈 (mama) followed a a a a a a a a a a a year later leaving Liu in in the care of his paternal grandpar- ents — — his 爷爷 (yéye) and 奶奶 (nainai) Liu — — whose Chinese name is is 刘思 慕 (liúsımù) and “little “little name” is 毛毛 (máomao) meaning “little “little caterpillar” — remembers these years fondly Every night he he slept between his grandparents (He also had a a a a a a a a a a a special affinity for the the Calabash Brothers a a a a a a a a a a a Chinese animated series about tiny superheroes with calabashes on their heads marking the the start of a a a a a a lifelong love affair with vigilantes ) When his father returned home to to take him him to to “the promised land of Canada ”
Liu called him him by his full name Liu Zhenning instead of 爸爸 (bàba) After spending his his primary school years in in in Kingston Liu and his his parents eventually settled in in Mississauga Growing up Liu played the part of a a a a a a golden
child — a a a a a a straight-A student studying regularly More than anything he wanted to make his parents proud But life in the land of opportunity was was not all it it was was cracked up to be Liu longed for his grandparents’ warmth His parents parents aerospace engineers believed that “absolutely nothing mattered more than continued job security ”
which meant they they had to be “absolutely exceptional” every single day — and they they expected the same of him In the the the book Liu recounts the the the first time his mother yelled at him for not finishing his his homework and and how he feared his his parents as a a a a a a child and and grew to resent them as an adolescent He struggled under the the the weight of their expec- tations and as Liu grew older he he he he sought to fill the the hole in his heart with the the love of other people “We grew up in in such incredibly different environments My parents grew grew up up during the Cultural Revolution in in in in China I grew grew up up in in in in a a a a place with running water where everybody had a a a a a a car everyone watched TV I had a a a a lot of difficulty connecting with my parents growing up and they in in in turn I think couldn’t fundamentally understand any of my struggles ”
Liu says “They were were very combative and they were were confused as to why I couldn’t just do what they wanted which was to follow in their footsteps ”
After high school Liu studied at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School before working briefly as an an accountant (Liu says he lacked the the meticulousness that that the the job required ) Until that that point he he he had only minor minor — — very minor minor — — brushes with the entertainment industry yet he he he knew he he wanted to perform During university he he won a a a talent competition called the “Superfrosh” where he he he sang in front of over 4 000 students His first experience on on a a a a a movie set set however was as as an extra on on the set set of Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim which was filming in in in Toronto For years Liu had convinced himself that acting was only a a a a a a a a pipe dream but after losing his job less than a a a a a a a a 118 BFM / / SS22 FEATURES / / OUT OF THE SHADOWS