Until two years ago, Simu Liu was best known as Jung Kim on Kim’s Convenience, a Canadian series on Netflix about a Korean immigrant family running a small convenience store. But once Simu Liu was cast to play Shang-Chi, the first Asian superhero leading a Marvel movie, he became a household name — and now Marvel star Simu Liu is sharing his story in a book! Simu Liu shared his book’s cover today, as well as its publication date.
The book is called “We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story”, and it follows Simu Liu’s journey from China to Canada to Hollywood. Simu Liu actually went to business school and became an accountant for a brief period of time, pursuing the degree due to family pressures and finding an unexpected passion for acting when he started being an extra in movies.
I WROTE A BOOK!
From Harbin to Hollywood, We Were Dreamers is a hilarious and heartfelt tale about coming of age in a foreign land, struggling to find your footing and ultimately learning to seize your moment and own your greatness.
Pre-order it here: https://t.co/cU9baUIXE6 pic.twitter.com/dafoaItezF
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) February 1, 2022
According to the book’s Goodreads summary, Marvel star Simu Liu was raised by his grandparents in Harbin, China until his parents sent for him in Canada. There, he struggled to deal with the differences in “culture, language, and values”, not only between him and his new country but also between him and his parents.
Simu Liu’s acting career apparently began after seeing a Craigslist ad, and the rest of the book follows his journey as he moves forward in “show business” while contending with the struggles of an unknown actor, “a swath of rejections” “comical mishaps”, and the disapproval of his parents.
Simu shared the book’s cover on Instagram, saying that he was “so, very, completely, BEYOND excited to share with you the cover of my book!!” Simu also added that “this deeply personal journey has been nearly three years in the making. Now, I’m finally ready to share with you this hilarious and heartfelt story of coming of age in a foreign land of poutine and Tim Horton’s double-doubles, struggling to find your footing, then ultimately learning to seize the moment and own your greatness. From Harbin to Hollywood, this is the story of our family of dreamers who never stopped reaching for their happy ending.
Just adding on here; every immigrant family has an extraordinary origin story, and this is ours.
This book is my whole heart and soul. It has been a nearly three-year journey to write this story of our little family of dreamers, and I absolutely cannot wait to share it with you!
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) February 1, 2022
Simu Liu also thanked actress Olivia Munn, actor Ryan Reynolds, and comedian Ronny Chien (his Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings co-star) for contributing blurbs for the book before its release. The book will be officially released on March 3, but preorder is available now!
Have you been following Simu Liu and his career since his entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or were you watching him as Jung Kim?
