Page 121 - The Book For Men Spring/Summer 2022

year later he he decided to pursue it it full-time — even if it it meant he he again found himself at odds with his parents Liu’s representation of his family life in We We Were Dreamers contradicts the notion of of “saving face” in in in Chinese culture and he he forgoes a a a a a a rosy image of of a a a a a a perfect family But he’s quick to to point out that he he hasn’t done so to to air his fam- ily’s dirty laundry Instead his story is is “for future generations — children and parents alike — to to to to read and and see to to to to be able to to to to connect to to to to [and potentially] avoid the the the pitfalls and the the the mistakes that we made along the the the way ” he he he he says “I just feel like by articulating why I I acted the way I I did and maybe [getting] my parents’ side of the the the story that we we could somehow bridge the the the gap between the the the generations and help similar families hopefully find their way back together ” The turning point in in in Liu’s own relationship with his parents he he says came when he he he booked his first series regular role on on the OMNI Television drama Blood and and and Water which required him to speak fluent Mandarin With pages pages and and and pages pages of Chinese dialogue Liu turned to to his parents who begrudgingly agreed to to help him learn his lines In the the process he he he says “they started to see a a a a a a level of dedication and passion in in me that I think they quite honestly had probably never seen before ” Liu’s big break came in 2016 when he he he he booked the the role of Jung — the the rebel- lious estranged son of patriarch Sang-il (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and matriarch Yong-mi (Jean Yoon) — on on on on on Ins Choi’s Kim’s Convenience For five seasons the beloved CBC Television sitcom about a a a a a a a a a Korean Canadian family that owns a a a a a a a a a Toronto convenience store helped shine a a a light on on on on the generational differences between immigrant parents and their children resonating with audiences that have historically been overlooked in Western media Perhaps unsurprisingly the story resonated deeply with Liu In fact he he found himself in in tears after first watching the the play that the the show was eventu- ally based on “I just sat in in in the auditorium and and I I I was was bawling and and I I I was was dating somebody who wasn’t Asian at the time and and she couldn’t understand why I was so deeply affected by it ” he he recalls “I remember trying to to explain to to her: ‘This is is is my my life ’ [When] I I saw saw Jung speaking with his his Appa I I saw saw me and my my dad and and it was was just so so visceral and and so so authentic And that was was the the beginning of of my journey of of appreciating the idea that our our parents sacrificed greatly so that we could be here ” Since its establishment in in the early 20th century Hollywood has depicted Asians in in a a a a a a a a a troubling way In particular Asian Asian men have historically been char- acterized as weak effeminate and undesirable in in Western media And for a a a a a a a a long time Liu accordingly sought to align himself with whiteness he was embarrassed by the the the the food he he he he he ate the the the the shape of of his his eyes the the the the colour of of his his hair He resented the the the the “white bastion of male beauty ” yet he also longed to meet its standards As an an aspiring actor Liu long thought playing into stereotypes was an an occupational necessity too “When we turn on on the TV and see Asian characters that are not aspirational but stereotypes and one-dimensional punchlines of a a a a a a a a joke it damages damages us us ” he says “It damages damages our self-confidence because you feel like that’s the the way the the world sees you ” Following the the unprecedented success of Black Panther in in 2018 Marvel fast- tracked the development of a a a a film centred on Shang-Chi a a a a little-known superhero that originated in in comics filled with racist tropes (Four years earlier Liu had sent a a a a a a a prophetic tweet to Marvel asking when it would have an an an Asian American hero )
Co-writers Dave Callaham and Destin Daniel Cretton wanted to to tell the story of of a a a a a a a martial arts master hiding in in in plain sight who yearns for the love of of his his father “This movie is is is is not about how good [Shaun] is is is is at at martial arts — it’s about his his his journey to connect with his his his family and his his his father ” Liu says In doing so Shang-Chi both reclaims and subverts the the old trope of the the martial arts master for Asian actors which according to to Liu can only prove problematic when its characters — — often seen as perpetual foreigners — — lack any kind of of nuance or or the most human characteristic of all: complexity Sure Shaun just so happens to to be be one of the the the world’s deadliest assassins “but the the the key to to the the the audience being able to to connect to to him is is is his humanity That is is is the subversive part ” By virtue of his work in Shang-Chi and Kim’s Convenience Liu has become an an an an an an an outspoken advocate for Asian Asian American and Asian Asian Canadian representation “We’re a a a a a generation that has pretty much only known what it’s like to grow up in the the West and therefore I feel like we have to fundamentally shift our thinking and and our paradigm ” he explains “We have to not not be afraid and and not not continuously apologize for our our own own existence the way our our parents did We have to own own that space I I want to to show people even if I’m doing it it imperfectly what it it means to to claim your voice and to be out there ” Doing so is made especially tricky by the reality that faces many Chinese immigrant families today: the the the need to to straddle their places in both the the the West and in in China simultaneously In fact when Liu was first cast as as as Shang-Chi he he unwittingly found himself at at the centre of a a a a contentious conversation about Eastern and and Western beauty standards with some in in in China claiming that at at least by Chinese beauty standards Liu wasn’t handsome enough for the role And yet he he he never grew up feeling like he he he fit Western beauty standards either Liu like all Chinese immigrants and their children is torn between vastly different ideologies and and cultures trying to to appease both — and and due to to the deepening geopolitical divisions of recent years that gap feels as though it’s been widening “It really feels like we’re starting to polarize and China has become kind of synonymous with [this] idea of of an an enemy of of the the West and that’s not the the China that that my parents grew up in in — and that’s not the China that that I I remember So I I take it as a a a a a a reminder that that there’s still a a a a a a lot more work to be done ” says Liu hopeful that that a a a a a a a cross-cultural hit like Shang-Chi can in a a a a a a a small way help bridge the divide After wrapping production on on Shang-Chi in in 2020 Liu called his agents with a a a a a a simple request: “Get me into another movie stat — and make sure it it has nothing to to do with martial arts ” The first project to to come across his manager’s desk was Arthur the the King an adventure film set in in in in the the Amazon rainforest starring Liu and Mark Wahlberg While Liu is is reluctant to to divulge too much about his other upcoming roles in in impending projects — like the the sci-fi thriller Hello Stranger the the romantic comedy One True Loves or the secretive Greta Gerwig project Barbie — he he says they’ve all all stemmed from a a a a desire to challenge people’s perceptions of what he he can do as an an actor “I [have] seen it happen a a a a million times before where somebody gets an incredible first break and then they’re complacent ” he he he says “Every single decision I’ve made after that has been like ‘Does this material challenge me and the the audience’s perception of who I I I am?’ I I I feel like I’m just scratching the the surface — and not just as as a a a a a a a performer Can I assume more of a a a a a a a producer role? Can I champion projects and [be] the the difference between getting [them] green-lit and not? Now I I I I feel feel like like I’m at a a a a a a a very rare place in Hollywood: I I I I feel feel like like I I I I actually have the the ability to do that that So it’s a a a a a a very exciting time and the the only thing that that I’m missing is is sleep but I I just want to keep going ” 121