Simu Liu Says He Owes His Life to Company That Fired Him 10 Years Ago

Superheroes are known for dramatic transformations, and, it turns out, so are the actors who play them.   

“Ten years ago to the day, I was lead into my managing partner’s office at Deloitte and told that they were terminating my employment effective immediately,” Simu Liu, a.k.a. Marvel’s Shang-Chi, wrote in an April 12 Instagram post. “A lady from HR and a security guard escorted me back onto the floor in front of the entire open concept office. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Nobody moved, offered a whisper of encouragement or even looked in my direction. I fought back tears of humiliation, grabbed my things, and never looked back.”

The post itself was a screenshot of one of his social media messages that said, “I owe my life to being let go from a career I hated. Accounting = not for me.”

At the time of the layoff, though, Liu felt devastated. “Ten years ago I thought my life was over,” he continued. “I had wasted countless time and money that my family had invested in me. Years of schooling, gifted programs, trying to live up to my parents’ expectations. It all came crashing down in an instant.”