Simu Liu Has Only ‘Ever Wanted’ to Be on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
Step aside, Rudy Giuliani: There’s a new reality TV wannabe in our midst, however jokingly.
(And no, we never thought we’d be writing those words.)
After news broke that the former New York City mayor is competing on season seven of “The Masked Singer,” Marvel superhero star Simu Liu is voicing his desire to show off his triple threat talent.
The “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” actor revealed during Variety’s Actors on Actors studio that he has been wanting to be a “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant for decades.
“In my college, I was in a hip-hop competitive dance team. It was right in the heyday of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and ‘America’s Best Dance Crew.’ I was all about it,” Liu said. “I didn’t study for any of my classes because of it.”
Liu added, “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Turns out Liu’s dance skills did help him in Hollywood, though.
“I had done some work as an on-again, off-again stuntman, but if we’re honest, I think I was more of a dancer than I ever was a martial artist,” Liu shared. “Pretty much from the moment I was cast [in ‘Shang-Chi’], I started working with trainers and learning how to move. I had such awful flexibility. My groin and my tendons were just so stiff. A big part of that early process was just bending my body and trying to rip those legs apart. But what was great too is it was my first movie.”
IndieWire’s Kate Erbland hailed Liu’s ability to “feel like the kind of dude who could slip into regular society without arising much suspicion” while still “positively nailing the awe-inspiring action sequences” in the film.
“While Shang-Chi’s battle between who he is and who he wants to be, who can protect and who he can’t, and what it all means in the emotional milieu of his family sounds like standard-issue superhero stuff, Liu infuses these struggles with a real believability and charm,” Erbland added.
“So You Think You Can Dance” is on indefinite hiatus. But since Liu has already hosted “Saturday Night Live” and will be back onscreen with two films this year — “One True Loves” and “Arthur the King” — it’s only fair to suggest Liu land a spot on next season’s “Dancing With the Stars,” right?