Marvel's first Asian lead Simu Liu said he 'nearly cried' when he first put on his 'Shang-Chi' superhero suit

• In an interview with Toronto Life, "Shang-Chi" actor Simu Liu said he "nearly cried" when he first put on his superhero suit.
• Liu said it was an "impactful moment" for him as Marvel's first-ever Asian lead, and said it meant a lot to him and "for people who look like [him]."

Simu Liu said he nearly cried when he first put on his "Shang-Chi" superhero suit because it was such an "impactful moment" as Marvel's first-ever Asian lead.

Liu was speaking to Toronto Life ahead of season five of "Kim's Convenience," and spoke about transitioning into a leading superhero with his upcoming MCU movie "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."

"The first time I tried on Shang-Chi's superhero suit. Marvel has never had an Asian lead, so that was such a rare and impactful moment, for me as an actor but also for people who look like me. I nearly cried. It was so emotional," Liu said.

Liu joked that this feeling didn't last too long, as the suit began to irritate him after wearing it for a while: "by the fifth day, I was like, 'Oh my god, I hate this thing, why are there so many zippers?'"

Marvel has made a conscious push to ensure that greater representation is present in their movies, which began with their first-ever Black lead in Chadwick Boseman as the titular "Black Panther" in 2018. This was followed by Marvel's first-ever female lead with Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in 2019's "Captain Marvel," and Scarlett Johansson finally gets her own solo movie with the upcoming "Black Widow." Meanwhile, "The Eternals" will feature a gay superhero for the first time in any Marvel movie.

"Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" will follow in those footsteps and feature a predominantly Asian cast including Awkafina, Michelle Yeoh, Ronny Chieng, and Tony Leung.

In the same interview, Liu boldly claimed that his character could defeat Iron Man, the Hulk, and the Black-Widow, and joked about how he landed the role of Shang-Chi - by tweeting Marvel.

Liu said: "In December of 2018, I was coming off my third season of 'Kim's Convenience,' where I play Jung, and I was thinking I was all hot stuff. The news had just dropped that Marvel was casting for 'Shang-Chi,' and I facetiously tweeted at them, 'Hey, are we going to talk or what?' I didn't have any expectations."