Shang-Chi star Simu Liu used to model for stock photos, fans marvel at his success story

Fans of actor Simu Liu have discovered some pictures from his life before he became a Marvel star. Simu, who is now the first Asian to headline a Marvel superhero movie, Shang Chi: The Legend of Ten Rings, used to model for stock pictures.

A person shared two pictures of Simu on Twitter. They showed Simu posing with others at a workplace setup. “SIMU LIU USED TO MODEL FOR STOCK IMAGES HELPP,” the person wrote. The tweet got 90K likes and 9000 retweets. “If simu finds this and starts blocking me it’s on you guys,” they wrote in another tweet.

Fans had a variety of reactions to the photos. “Sometimes I forget the people on stock photos are real,” wrote one. “Shang-chi and the legend of the 10 corporate meetings,” wrote another. “Simu Liu went from stock photo model to superhero and we love that for him #shangchi,” commented another person.

Others also shared more stock pictures of Simu from train stations and even an Avicii video that he featured in. Some even discovered a tweet by Simu, which he shared last year. In it, he too, had shared stock photos of himself. “Legitimately wondering if I am the greatest stock photo model of all time. Totally unrelated note, please stop buying these photos,” he wrote.

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Not just him, Star Wars actor John Boyega also shot for stock pictures before landing Finn’s role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Simu is a Canadian actor, stuntman and erstwhile Deloitte accountant. He plays the titular role in Shang-Chi, which also features Tony Leung, Awkwafina and Michelle Yeoh. Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the movie follows Shang-Chi who is drawn into the clandestine Ten Rings organisation, and is forced to confront the past he thought he left behind.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings also stars Meng’er Zhang, Fala Chen, Florian Munteanu and Benedict Wong.