Shang-Chi star Simu Liu reacted to Marvel memes inspired by his resurrected viral photos Tonight’s show starring Jimmy Fallon. The Canadian actor and trickster, a former accountant and stock model, went viral when Twitter users shared old photos of Liu available on services like Getty Images and iStockphoto. After the first Asian-led film directed by Marvel Studios was released with a record $ 94 million four-day Labor Day weekend, Liu posted a viral tweet of his own (circa 2014) noting and laughing at “people who thought we would fail.”
“If you’re a good role model, they pay you thousands of dollars, you walk the runway … if you’re a stock model, you’re usually paid a base fee for a $ 100 one-day shoot,” he said. Liu Friday Tonight’s show. “And they own the rights to the photos they take in perpetuity. Which is very, very important. It means the rights are never exhausted.”
I laughed at people who thought I would flop pic.twitter.com/7UoLqRXlCJ
– Simu Liu (@Simu Liu) September 6, 2021
“They could sell these photos and make millions and millions of dollars, and the talent won’t earn a penny,” Liu continued. “That’s what happened to me.”
Fallon showed authentic images of Liu before showing the “Marvel-ized” versions posted on Twitter, including memes inspired by Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings and another that inserts Liu into a scene with the Avengers in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. Watch how Liu reacts to the video above and watch some of the following memes: