You know you’ve made it when someone dresses up as you for Halloween, and of course, as a Marvel superhero, Simu Liu has probably had more than a few people donning his character’s costume this year and last. But in the case of one young fan, it isn’t just Liu’s current success that he is celebrating, but his past too.
Before Liu had any true success as an actor, he got paid $100 for a day of modeling for stock photos. The resulting images show Liu in a variety of cliché environments and poses as he acts out being a businessman in meetings, showing coworkers his laptop screen, and even hitting the gym to get in his daily exercise.
Thanks to these images being available to purchase, Liu would see his image appearing everywhere, saying in a now vanished insta story cited on Buzzfeed, “I did ONE stock photoshoot for 100 bucks cash in 2014… and I have ended up on HUNDREDS of ads and storefronts and pamphlets and textbook covers.” In the next story, he added, “moral of the story, think twice before doing a stock photoshoot because they own the photos FOREVER.”
We have to admit though, after seeing one young fan take costume inspiration from said stock photo, we are glad Liu did do them because this is too cute! The Marvel actor shared images of a young boy dressing up as Liu from various stages in his career going all the way back to the beginning. Liu tweeted “This little boy was my entire career progression for Halloween LMAOOO!!”
Next up is Liu’s iconic performance as Shang-Chi in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The young fan seems to happy to be dressed as the hero.
The final costume is a recreation of Liu’s recent autobiography cover We Were Dreamers, complete with looking off in the distance whilst sitting on a stool. Liu was in love with the little guy’s multiple costumes; it must have been an amazing moment to see his career played out by such a happy young fan.
In the past, Liu has joked about hating that fans had found and shared his stock photography online, but he has obviously made an exception in this case. Liu was the first lead Asian actor in the MCU and through his book and follow-up tour has shared his experience with moving from China to Canada and growing up as an immigrant. The actor has become a symbol for many Asian Americans, Asian Canadians, and for the Asian community globally, and photos like this show just how important and positive representation can be.
Liu will next appear in the live-action Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig, appearing alongside Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Will Ferrell. It’s due to be released on July 31, 2023.
