We Were Dreamers- Simu Liu

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⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

This is Simu Liu's memoir about going from being taken care of by his grandparents in China to landing the role of Shang-Chi in the biggest movie franchise in Hollywood. I don't consider myself a particular fan of his, although I did like him in Kim's Convenience, and was more interested in his story of what it's like as an Asian-Canadian actor.

He discusses his parents' stories, which I appreciated, as they play a big role in his story as growing up as an immigrant family. It's a pretty wild story, since it was only in 2012 that he got fired from his accounting job with absolutely no acting experience, and in less than ten years landed this huge role. Simu is clear about his own failings, and doesn't hold back about the realities of growing up with abusive, demanding parents who sacrificed everything for him, a kid who skipped classes and just wanted to play X-Box. He seems like a great guy (although I'm sure I would've hated him if we went to school together), and it's great to see how he grew from a privileged but immature kid to one who speaks up about representation and racial inequality. And I was moved to tears a few times too. I found it to be an interesting and worthwhile read.

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