Simu Liu “wanted so badly to be hot” as a teenager.
The ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ star says growing up Asian and male was challenging because Western media represents his kind as “awkward, nerdy and completely undateable”.
Speaking about his confessions in his recently published memoir, ‘We Were Dreamers’, the 33-year-old actor told the Independent newspaper: "It’s very embarrassing, but I wanted so badly to be hot. I wanted so badly to be desired and loved and admired. I had an attention deficiency at home, but also I was probably just a dumb kid who wanted a girlfriend and to be thought of as attractive. I mean, who doesn’t?”
Simu said getting a job at the preppy store Abercrombie and Fitch - who infamously hire based on looks - made him "feel good" about his looks.
He said: “But at the time I didn’t find it … I mean, I knew it was discriminatory but, like, so was everything else in the world! So was every single movie. It wasn’t like Abercrombie was somehow especially discriminatory. It actually made me feel good to be able to work there.”
The ‘Barbie’ star now tries to be “a model of self-assuredness” instead of wanting to be the best looking man on the planet.
Simu said: “I don’t feel like I’m the hottest man in the world but what I’m trying to be is a model of self-assuredness. The fun of being topless every once in a while is feeling like… yeah, I worked for this! I deserve to feel good in my skin! And if it happens to shatter a couple of stereotypes along the way, then sure, why not?”
