Shadowing Practice: Simu Liu Replies to Fans on the Internet | Actually Me | GQ - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hi, I'm Simu Liu and I'm going undercover on the internet.
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Hi, I'm Simu Liu and I'm going undercover on the internet.
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This is actually me.
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TikTok.
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I am, yes.
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1.4 million followers.
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Who's keeping track?
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Certainly not me.
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Alright, this is a video of me in the middle of Times Square, right before our movie came out.
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We came out, we've got this massive banner, and it's just me kind of existing.
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Gus Matos says, Five Buck says, you can't walk in Times Square now without getting noticed.
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Probably true, although I do have ways of disguising myself when I want a little bit of privacy.
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It involves a parka with a very, very large hood, sunglasses, and a face mask.
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Okay.
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Um, IyuhuLokid asks, Are you the only one of the Marvel cast who has TikTok?
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I think Jeremy Renner's got a TikTok.
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I mean, of course, Ryan Reynolds, the social media master Ryan Reynolds, has a TikTok and you should definitely check it out.
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And I can spend this entire video talking about how much of a fan of Ryan Reynolds I am, but then we would derail the whole purpose of this promotional tour,
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which is to promote this movie that I was in, which I've now forgotten the name of.
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All right, Instagram.
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Kenan underscore Stairns says, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
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Am I gonna get a movie where Simu Liu and Philippa Su are love interest?
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This has to be a dream.
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Kenan, it's not a dream, buddy.
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We are in fact starring in a movie together.
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The movie is called One True Loves, based on the incredible novel written by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
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If you've read the novel, you know the story at all, you'll know that Philippa's character, Emma, and my character, Sam,
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do have indeed a romantic plot line.
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Nickity Split asks on this photo of me and my dog Choppa, Did you do the awesome thing and rescue her?
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I don't even think of it as awesome.
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We met on a set in the Dominican Republic.
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We fell in love and we've been inseparable ever since.
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I really don't think of it as a rescue.
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And if I do, it's more of her rescuing me.
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So we're very happy together.
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Sebastian underscore Katarol asks, is he single?
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And my answer is, is that your business?
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Next, YouTube.
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Andrew Nguyen asks, super curious on why the designers on Shang-Chi chose the Jordan access over every other Jordan.
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Andrew, I don't make the decisions.
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All I know is that we wanted the character of Sean to be a super relatable guy, and also at the end of the day,
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he parks cars for a living.
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He's not a millionaire, and so he was never going to wear like $10,000 collector shoes.
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I think in the beginning, as with everybody kind of stepping into massive film roles from relative obscurity,
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I was really nervous about speaking up and I generally took everyone else's lead.
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But I think as time went on and I kind of settled into myself a little bit, I got to make more recommendations and I got to kind of speak my mind.
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I didn't have to do much.
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Like, I didn't give any notes on the superhero suit or anything like that because from the moment that I saw it, I knew that it was pretty perfect.
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Next is Twitter.
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Oh man, best place in the world.
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Okay, so this is in response to a tweet that I tweeted I think in February 2017.
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I think it's in reference to a stock photo that I was in.
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This is massively ironic because I worked for Deloitte out of business school and got laid off because I was so bad.
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Ha ha ha ha.
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And then, it's Skywalker asked me, were you in tax or audit?
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God, this is going to be the least interesting answer to a question ever.
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I was in audit.
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My industry group was financial institutions, so my clients were mostly insurance companies and banks.
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We would perform bank reconciliations on their bank statements
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and all sorts of other wonderfully interesting things that I'm sure you'd want to hear about.
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Cynthia, God of Lokis, asks, What did your parents say about this picture?
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And the picture is of me at our London premiere with Sandra Oh and Michelle Yeoh.
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Icons, legends.
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My parents lately have been very vocal about how proud they are of me,
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which is a nice change considering for most of my life they were asking me why I wasn't a doctor, or a lawyer, or an engineer.
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It was a really happy moment for them, and they were very proud of their son.
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Next, Edmund Chu at Colored Sketch asks, is there a particular moment on the set that got you
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so emotional that you became so motivated to do better in your craft, hoping to inspire someone out there?
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Oh my god, that is a heavy question, Edmund.
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When we're going to work every day, we're not constantly thinking about trying to inspire other people.
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We're worried about doing the best possible work that we can.
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Sometimes it's better not to think about the pressure, not to think about the responsibility.
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That being said, I mean the moment that I tried on my suit for the first time was intensely emotional.
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I felt the weight of everything that that entailed, not only just for anybody to become a superhero,
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but also for someone who looks like me to step into that role really felt historic.
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It felt special.
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It felt like we did have the opportunity to inspire a generation of people.
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Only K asks, look, you have to settle this.
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Are you a Swifty?
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Our song is a slamming screen door.
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Yeah, yeah, who wouldn't be?
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On SNL, she was fantastic.
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I'm looking for that scarf.
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I hope that whoever has it gives it back, you know, all of those things.
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Taylor Swift forever.
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Reddit.
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Dolph and Chris asks, fine, I'll ask.
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Do you play any video games?
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If so, which game has been keeping you busy lately?
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I play so many video games.
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When I'm together with my friends, I love hitting Super Smash.
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Super Smash is just easy, it's fun competition.
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I love Overcooked, I love VR.
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I've been hitting the Halo Infinite beta.
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My friends and I are big StarCraft purists.
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We've been playing that game even though It like literally hasn't been updated in years, but we'll keep playing it.
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We like to think we're pretty good, so come at us.
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Mini Monster Dude asks, Hey Simu, so awesome that you're doing this.
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I love reading AMAs.
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Which MCU character, past, present, or future, would you want Shang-Chi to team up with?
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Why?
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Which MCU actor would you want to work with in a scene or an entire movie?
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Why?
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Thank you.
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Very polite question, first of all.
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Thank you very much, Mini Monster Dude.
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I would say from the moment I saw Korg on screen, I knew that I liked him.
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I knew that he had a magnetic personality, and I knew that I wanted to spend time with him.
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And so I would love for Shang-Chi and Korg to do a little team up,
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little bantery love-hate friendship kind of thing, little buddy comedy together.
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And then in terms of which MCU actor I'd want to work with for a scene or an entire movie, I'm tempted to say Chris Hemsworth, but I'm afraid that his bicep will make me look like a little string bean,
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and that will make me more insecure than I already am.
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CostasPat257 asks, do you have plans on opening a boba shop to serve the sea moon?
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I don't know why you've capitalized the...
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I've always been a massive fan of boba, not just as a beverage itself, but for what it kind of represents for Asian Americans.
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You know, it's a drink that so distinctly is ours.
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I think maybe I've got my hands full right now with the whole film thing.
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As soon as I get a little bit of time on my hands, I'd like to maybe give it a shot.
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Never say never.
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Keep your eyes peeled.
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Next, we have Wikipedia.
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Since the character does not wear a mask, Liu performed many of his own stunts, this is true, Shang-Chi does not wear a mask, and put on 10 pounds,
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4.5 kilos, of muscle for the role while working on his flexibility.
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I'm not sure if I ever said that I put on 10 pounds of muscle.
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I know I put on some.
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I don't know that I've ever weighed myself enough to know that, but I know that it was a very strenuous physical process,
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and flexibility was one of the most painful parts of that process.
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Liu was knowledgeable in Taekwondo, gymnastics and winchun and learned and trained in tai chi, wushu, muay thai, silat, krav maga,
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jujitsu, boxing and street fighting for the film.
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I guess you could say that was technically true leading up to me getting the role.
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My martial arts experience was extremely limited and the education really didn't begin until after I knew that I had the role.
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I worked pretty tirelessly with a lot of coaches and that's why you see all of the different styles listed.
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This paragraph makes it seem as if I'm just like this master of 14 different types of martial arts.
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That couldn't be further from the truth.
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I think I'm very mediocre at a lot of them.
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In 2014, Liu was paid $100 to model for a set of stock photos for a fat camera, with the photos later appearing in subway stations,
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advertisements, storefronts, pamphlets, and textbook covers, as well as being the subject of widespread media coverage upon Liu's mainstream acting breakthrough in 2021.
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True.
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I was an out-of-work actor.
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I was desperate for money.
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There was this opportunity, I think it came up on Craigslist, to model for stock photos.
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And at the time, I thought, you know, why not?
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It couldn't hurt.
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It's not like these photos will end up anywhere.
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And what I didn't know was that whatever photos I took would become,
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like, the most used stock photos of all time because I literally see them everywhere and I constantly get tagged in them.
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The most important part is
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that I am not getting paid a single penny for their usage
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because that is the whole point of stock photo modeling is
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that you sign away all of your rights to your likeness in perpetuity.
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So for anybody out there who is thinking of becoming a stock photo model or doing a stock photo shoot, just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
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That's all I'll say.
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In December of 2017, Liu wrote an online piece from Maclean's magazine detailing his experiences growing up in an immigrant family.
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The article was later published in the magazine's January 2018 issue, and he's currently writing a memoir, We Were Dreamers, an immigrant superhero origin story.
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True, I do have a book coming out in May.
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It is called We Were Dreamers.
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It is the incredible story, not just of my own experiences growing up,
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Chinese-Canadian in Toronto, but also of my parents growing up in China in the 60s and 70s.
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And what I really found by interviewing them and learning about their lives
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and their experiences that our journeys were remarkably parallel in a way.
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If you think about it, I took on a risk when I chose to become an actor, and I had a dream that I wanted to achieve by any means necessary.
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And for my parents, you know, that dream was being able to come to Canada and to study.
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For both of us, our stories are about the pursuit of that dream,
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and it's really just a beautiful story of our entire family just being connected by the power of ambition and of dreams.
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Pekora.
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Was Simu Liu famous before being cast in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings?
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The answer is maybe-ish.
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I was on a wonderful show called Kim's Convenience, had five incredible seasons, and we're all very proud of the work that we did.
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The kind of quote-unquote fame that I experienced then was actually really sweet.
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It was like families would come up to us and say, hey, we love your show, we watch it together, or I'm able to watch this with my aunts, uncles, you know, nieces, nephews,
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sons, daughters, a really wholesome kind of fandom.
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The fandom for the Marvel movie is a little bit different.
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People are very, very passionate, very enthusiastic.
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It can be a lot sometimes too, so it's been a thing that I've had to juggle.
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I look back on those days very fondly, the Kim's Convenience days.
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Will Shang-Chi, Simu Liu, reprise his MCU role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?
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Even if I were in that movie, which I'm not, there is no way in hell that I would ever say it out loud.
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That's all I can really say, right?
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No, I'm kidding.
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With the casting of Simu Liu and Shang-Chi, do you feel like Asian actors are finally getting bigger roles, or does the move not seem earnest?
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Although I do feel like there is a lot more work to be done in the industry in terms of representation,
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in terms of equality, in terms of democratizing power and allowing authentic voices to be heard, I do feel that there is an earnest effort that's being made.
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And I feel that in the conversations that I have with my agents, with Kevin and with Marvel, there's a real realization that,
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you know, representation is critically important.
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And I think Shang-Chi was a very important piece in proving that.
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I think you're going to see a continued progress moving forward.
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I'm really excited for the next few years.
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How did Simu Liu go from the Pacific Rim background extra to star of Shang?
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This is the million dollar question.
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Honestly, by putting one foot in front of the other, by setting sights on the horizon and just kind of manifesting with every fiber of my being,
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by working hard and not giving up, and by looking for opportunities to self-create and be self-sufficient,
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rather than just kind of waiting for the phone to ring and waiting for the opportunity to knock on your door.
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It's all about being proactive, it's all about being resilient, and it's all about being in it for the long run.
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For anybody out there that needs to hear that, you gotta keep going.
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All right, that's it everybody.
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Hope I answered some questions for you today, and we'll see you around.
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About This Lesson
In this practice lesson, you will enhance your English speaking skills by focusing on a transcript from an engaging segment featuring Simu Liu. By employing the shadowing technique, you will not only improve your pronunciation but also gain confidence in your ability to speak naturally and fluently, as the speaker responds to various questions about his life and career. This lesson integrates real-world examples and interactions, making it an effective way to prepare for IELTS speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Undercover - working in secret to gather information
- Disguising - concealing one’s identity or appearance
- Relatable - something easy to relate to or understand
- Inseparable - unable to be separated; very close
- Recommendations - suggestions or advice
- Perfect - without any faults or defects
- Plot line - the main story or theme in a film or book
- Collectible - valuable items that people collect, often for investment
Practice Tips
To effectively utilize the shadowing technique with this video transcript, follow these steps:
- Watch and Listen: Begin by watching the video segment a few times. Pay attention to Simu Liu’s tone, tempo, and pronunciation. He speaks in a casual, conversational style which is great for english speaking practice.
- Shadowing Steps: After familiarizing yourself with the content, play the video again, and try to repeat what he says almost simultaneously. Adjust your volume to ensure your voice matches his rhythm, which is both engaging and energetic.
- Pause and Imitate: When Liu shares interesting responses, pause the video and repeat the lines back to yourself. This will help you master specific phrases and improve your speaking flow.
- Rhythm and Tone: Focus on mimicking not just the words but also the emotions they convey. Notice how Simu Liu uses humor and informality, elevating your communication skills and ensuring your delivery feels more natural.
- Record Yourself: Use your smartphone or any recording device to capture your shadow speak. Play it back to identify areas where you can improve your pronunciation or intonation, similar to feedback you’d receive during IELTS speaking practice.
By following these tips and consistently practicing, you will enhance your fluency and confidence in speaking English while also preparing effectively for your language assessments.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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