‘It’s a big moment for our community’: Simu Liu on being Marvel’s first Asian lead
In 2018 Simu Liu sent a tweet in which he asked Marvel “are we gonna talk or what?”, and used the hashtag #ShangChi.
Now, in a storyline perhaps worthy of its own Hollywood movie, the actor’s first film as the superhero is hitting cinemas across the world.
And Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings isn’t just a dream come true for Liu – as the character is Marvel’s first Asian superhero – the movie marks a milestone moment for many film fans who have been waiting to feel represented by the studio and within the genre.
Liu is playing Shang-Chi. Pic: Marvel Studios
“It’s a big moment for our community, obviously, and for me personally, too,” Liu told Sky News.
“It’s my first feature film in the Hollywood world and I didn’t want to do anything less than the absolute best.”
The film is an origin story, and sees Shang-Chi forced to confront a past he thought he’d left behind.
It’s also an action movie, with huge amounts of martial arts – something Liu admits he wasn’t ready for when he first won the role.
“I had some stunt background and a background in gymnastics, but by no means was I some sort of Jackie Chan or a Bruce Lee, like a pure master of the art – and I knew that I had my work cut out for me,” he said.
“But that being said, I think that’s the challenge that every actor faces when they’re taking on a role and whether it’s martial arts or playing piano or violin or figure skating or whatever you have, it’s our job to immerse ourselves and fully commit to selling the reality of the character.
Liu says he had to train for the role. Pic: Marvel Studios
“So for about four months in Sydney, leading up to the start of photography, I worked, I want to say five or six hours a day, five days a week in the stunt department, and then I did an hour, an hour and a half of strength and conditioning, so I definitely took it seriously.”
In another first for Marvel, the film has a mostly Asian cast, which includes Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh and the legendary Tony Leung.
Liu has joked on Twitter about how tough it is to impress his parents – but in working with Leung, he definitely had their attention.
Awkwafina (R) also stars in the film. Pic: Marvel Studios
He said they would call every week during production.
Liu explained: “Every time they’d call they’d be like, ‘How’s Tony?’ I’d be like ‘Tony’s fine – I’m also doing OK, Mom. Thank you!’ But that’s all she wanted to know.
“She was absolutely gutted that Tony couldn’t make it out to the premiere because she was, more than her own son having a movie premiere, she was looking forward to having a picture with Tony Leung.
“So I look forward to the day where I can finally fulfil my mother’s wish, but until then, maybe not fully proud of me just yet.”
And it’s not just Liu’s Mum who is seemingly star-struck by the veteran actor – Liu heaped praise on his co-star, calling him “magnetic and compelling”
“It’s just such an honour to go to work with him every day,” Liu said.
Liu said working with Tony Leung was an ‘honour’. Pic: Marvel Studios
“I think about a movie star of his stature, right, with his body of work in Asia and just being as A-list as he is, he really just comes off as so down to earth, so grounded, approachable, very gentle, soft spoken guy, very friendly too and so there was a lot of great times hanging out off set and also in between takes.
“He’s [got a] very, very incredible work ethic, he shows up to work, he never has his phone, he always is around set and never goes back to his trailer, is just so incredibly focussed on the work and, you know, I think lifted the rest of us up with him, so it was truly a joy to work with him every day.”
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is out in cinemas in the UK on Friday.
Actress Olivia Hussey, best known for playing Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet, has died aged 73.
She died peacefully at her home in California, surrounded by her loved ones on Friday, according to a post shared on her official Instagram account.
The message, posted with a sunset photo of Hussey in her youth, paid tribute to “a remarkable person whose warmth, wisdom, and pure kindness touched the lives of all who knew her”.
It went on: “Olivia lived a life full of passion, love, and dedication to the arts, spirituality, and kindness towards animals”.
Calling her a “truly special soul”, her family said while her “immense loss” was grieved, they would also “celebrate Olivia’s enduring impact on our lives and the industry”.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1951 to an Argentinian father and English mother, Hussey returned to London aged seven with her mother and studied at the Italia Conti Academy drama school.
Spotted by Italian director Zeffirelli in a stage show of The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie opposite Vanessa Redgrave, Hussey’s performance as Juliet aged just 15 made her a star and won her a Golden Globe.
Sixteen-year-old actor Leonard Whiting played her Romeo, with the pair going on to sue Paramount Pictures in 2022 for sexual abuse due to the Oscar-nominated movie’s nude scene.
(L-R) Franco Zeffirelli, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting in 1968. Pic: AP/Eustache Cardenas
The case was dismissed by a judge the following year.
Hussey would work with Zeffirelli again, playing the Virgin Mary in the 1977 TV miniseries Jesus Of Nazareth.
Appearances in horrors including Black Christmas and Psycho prequel Psycho IV: The Beginning established Hussey as a scream queen over the years.
Other notable appearances included Hercule Poirot movie Death On The Nile and Mother Teresa biography Madre Teresa.
Read more:
Andrew Garfield on baking cookies and his mum’s perfume
Disabled musicians demand greater inclusivity
Hussey was reunited with Whiting in the 2015 British film Social Suicide, which was loosely based on Shakespeare‘s Romeo and Juliet.
Her daughter, actress India Eisley, played her on-screen daughter in the movie.
It was Hussey’s final screen role, according to IMDB.
Hussey leaves behind three children, Alex, Max, and India, her husband of 35 years David Glen Eisley, and grandson, Greyson.
Andrew Garfield says he bakes cookies every year in memory of his late mother.
The double Oscar nominee‘s mother Lynn Garfield, from Essex, died in 2019 from pancreatic cancer.
In a conversation about his new film We Live In Time, he told Sky News about the special ways he likes to remember her.
“My mum had the most incredible chocolate chip cookie recipe that I will do every year on the anniversary of her birth and on the anniversary of her death.
Pic: StudioCanal
“So, I will bake them, and we will all eat them, but I’ll leave a few out for her somewhere, you know, like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or Santa Claus at Christmas or something.”
The English-American actor says he looks to keep the connection to his mother alive and notes that he has some of her keepsakes in his own home.
“I have her perfume in my house that my mum used to wear when I was a kid. I have it, like, in a very special place. I’ll just like [smell it], when I need it.
“It’s like in the missing and the longing, you actually get closer to the person. It’s a weird thing. As we reach out in grief, we actually feel much closer to the person so it’s this weird conundrum”.
Pic: StudioCanal
‘Leaving a legacy behind’
Garfield stars alongside Florence Pugh in the romance film We Live In Time, which follows an up-and-coming chef and a Weetabix salesman through a decade of their love story.
Pugh says she loves playing “really strong-willed women” and says playing a woman dealing with ovarian cancer allowed her to look at the idea of creating a legacy.
“She’s constantly juggling whether she does something for herself, does something for her daughter, does something for her family and ultimately, she’s allowed to do all of those things.
“I do believe that she is trying to leave that kind of legacy behind so that her daughter is proud of her.
“Just because you are a parent and you’re a mum does not mean that your wills and wants also completely vanish and disappear and you can’t have or want them too”.
Pic: StudioCanal
‘A level of detail and care’
We Live In Time is directed by Brooklyn filmmaker John Crowley.
Having previously worked with Garfield on Boy A, the Irish director says seeing Garfield and Pugh on screen together is magic.
“All that life experience is present in his performance,” he says.
“I wouldn’t say he’s vastly different. I think the level of detail and care that he puts in the work is every bit as much as it was back then, there’s just more there now”.
We Live In Time is in cinemas on Wednesday 1 January.
Elizabeth J. Birch has been a musician for a decade, has won several awards, and loves her job. However, she continues to feel like an outsider in a competitive and precarious industry.
As a wheelchair user, she commonly experiences accessibility barriers at venues, but there’s a more pressing issue – tokenism.
Birch tells Sky News: “While it’s not explicitly stated that it’s tokenistic, it feels tokenistic because [organisations] need a certain amount of disabled people on their board.
“For example, I was once called a poster girl for inclusion.”
When asked how the experience made her feel, she pauses and reflects: “Perhaps it didn’t make me feel like an individual or it made me feel less than human because I was narrowed down to one aspect of myself.
“It’s not about trying to look inclusive, it’s about trying to be inclusive.”
A recent report by Help Musicians and the Musicians’ Union found 94% of those who have experienced discrimination based on their disability said it impacted their ability to work or advance their career progression.
Nyrobi Beckett-Messam, one half of the sister duo ALT BLK ERA, was diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions in 2021.
Out of the fear of discrimination, she wasn’t open about her hidden disability until only a few months ago.
“I didn’t feel comfortable sharing that side of me because society doesn’t accept it,” she says.
And she doesn’t regret opening up.
“I think the biggest benefit of me disclosing my disability is seeing how it’s impacted others,” she says.
“It’s really empowering, I wake up feeling every morning like the effect I’m having on the community.”
Among other key findings, the Musicians’ Census identified the following areas of concern when it comes to financial security, fair pay, and discrimination in the workplace:
• On average there is a £4,400 pay gap between disabled and non-disabled musicians
• The gap widens a further £1,700 for musicians with mental health conditions and/or neurodivergent profiles
• 27% of disabled musicians said they had experienced racism, compared with 7% of non-disabled musicians
• 73% of disabled respondents said they aren’t in receipt of any state benefits, tax credits, or support
Grace Meadows, head of engagement at Help Musicians and Music Minds Matter, said: “What this report really starkly highlights is just how much more work the industry needs to do to support disabled musicians but also to support anybody who may have a disability to speak up without fear of discrimination or disadvantage.
“And with benefits, really what we are needing to see is a change in what those systems look like so people can get the support they need when they need it.”
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A government spokesperson told Sky News: “We are bringing forward proposals to reform health and disability benefits in spring as part of a proper plan to genuinely support disabled people.
“We will work closely with disabled people and their organisations, whose views will be at the heart of these plans.”
Both Birch and Beckett-Messam believe in the social model of disability which recognises that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference.
For now, they are determined to stay in the industry, but that could change if it stays the same.
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