The actor became the first Asian to lead a superhero film with Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” (2021), and while it grossed more than $432 million worldwide and broke records for a Labor Day release, Liu said Hollywood is already changing course.
The China-born actor wrote Sunday on Threads in response to various articles about Asian representation in Hollywood, “Put some asians in literally anything right now. The amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f**king appalling. Studios think we are ‘risky.’”
Liu countered that notion by citing several Asian-led hits, including “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), “Farewell” (2019), “Minari” (2020), “Past Lives” (2023) and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which won seven Academy Awards in 2023, including Best Picture.
Liu noted Sunday about that roster, “every single one a financial success.”
He continued, “No asian actor has ever lost a studio even close to 100 million dollars but a white dude will lose 200 million TWICE and roll right into the next tentpole lead. We’re fighting a deeply prejudiced system. And most days it SUCKS.”
Liu was responding to a post compiled by another user, who shared screenshots of various articles about on-screen representation that featured comments from other Asian male actors — including Manny Jacinto, John Cho and Daniel Dae Kim.
“Hollywood, put more Asian men in romantic lead roles,” the user demanded.
Scott A Garfitt/Invision/Associated Press
Liu himself has been similarly outspoken over the years, and not just in regard to on-screen representation. The 36-year-old slammed Oscar-winning filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino in 2022 for their various criticisms of Marvel movies.
Liu has also used social media to speak out against right-wing politics, and told Variety earlier this month that he “probably should be more scared” of the backlash. He added at the time that “there’s something about the internet” that just seems to drive people “crazy.”
“There’s something about the publicness of it and where people love being the guy to put someone else down [or] put an entire group of people down,” Liu continued. “I am so not for that energy.”
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