Actor and stuntman Simu Liu recently got his huge breakthrough joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), playing the lead character of “Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.” Before this, he was mostly known for being on the sitcom Kim’s Convenience. As of 2023, Simu Liu has a net worth of $19 million.
Early Life
Simu was born to engineers Zheng and Zhenning Liu on April 19, 1989. He is fluent in Mandarin and is originally from Harbin, China, where his grandparents initially raised him.
When he turned five, his parents decided to study in Canada to become aerospace engineers. So, they immigrated with their son to Mississauga, Ontario. They also exposed him to advanced mathematics at an early age.
For secondary education, young Liu went to the University of Toronto Schools. Then, he attended the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School. Simu earned a degree in business administration in 2011.
Career Beginnings
After college, he was hired as an accountant by Deloitte, one of the top accountancy firms in the world. He hated the job and was fired after nine months. Despite the negative experience of being fired, it spurred him on to try acting. Afterwards he began his career as an actor by performing as a stuntman and an extra in several films and music videos.
In 2013, Simu Liu started making his own films. His first film project was a short movie called Open Gym and was featured at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival.
The following year, he modeled for FatCamera’s stock photos, which later became a meme when he became famous. The Chinese-born actor got his first recurring role with the Omni Television drama “Blood and Water” in 2015.
Acting Breakthrough
The same year he joined “Blood and Water,” Simu was cast as one of the main characters in Kim’s Convenience. This became his biggest television project yet, which helped him get gigs on shows like Taken, Bad Blood, and Orphan Black.
In 2019, he became a guest on “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” on Comedy Central and “Fresh Off the Boat” on ABC. Later that year, it was announced that he would star in Marvel Studio’s “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
It was a big deal for many superhero fans, as the movie was the first mainstream Marvel production that was led by an Asian cast. Shang Chi appeared on the big screen in 2021.
Net Worth and Earnings
Simu has come a long way from being an extra on set. Though he got a lot of attention from Kim’s Convenience, he has revealed that he didn’t make much from the CBC sitcom. He slammed the producers for the low pay actors received despite how successful the show was.
However, it can be assumed that it’s not the same as when he entered the MCU. His movie was a box office success, and he is expected to appear in future Marvel projects. Though Simu Liu’s salary from the studio is undisclosed, it’s a massive portion of his $19 million wealth.
Personal Life
In 2022, Simu made his relationship with Jade Bender public. A year before this, he appeared on the Netflix real estate series Selling Sunset as a potential buyer with Chrishell Stause as his agent. He ended up purchasing a $6.8 million home in Los Angeles, California, where he currently resides.
