Coming off the heels of his latest movie Barbie, Simu Liu is one of Canada's biggest stars of the year and now he's moving on to cheesier horizons.
Narcity sat down to chat with Liu about his new brand sponsorship with Cheetos and everything from vacation destinations and fame to the temptation to Google himself.
Liu's hands have taken centre stage as the face of "Cheetle," a newly-coined term for the residue left behind on your fingers after eating Cheetos. In fact, you may have seen him flashing his orange fingers on ads around your town.
Liu told Narcity that being the spokesperson for Cheetos is another lifelong dream he can check off his bucket list.
"I feel like that was on my dream board. That was my top three dreams as a kid, be the hands of Cheetle, be a superhero and be a literal doll," Liu teased with a smile.
You heard it here first folks. Dreams really do come true.
The 34-year-old actor has quickly grown into one of Canada's sweethearts starting from his humble days on Kim's Convenience to his starring role in Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to his latest blockbuster venture Barbie.
Skyrocketing to fame doesn't come without its challenges and Liu has frequently voiced his own struggle with mental health and grappling with his newfound status.
Back in September 2022, Liu shared an Instagram post where he got real about going to therapy and prioritizing his mental health.
"I felt like I was riding the hell out of the learning curve, crushing all my talk show appearances and interviews, but I was also neglecting to spend the necessary time to check in with myself and prioritize my mental health," he wrote.
These days the actor seems to be striking a balance with cottage visits up to Muskoka, a new relationship, and trying not to read too much about himself online.
If you've ever wanted to know Liu's mental health advice, travel tips, or what happened with that Junos streaker, keep reading.
Where do you think Canadians should vacation this year?
The Canadian actor grew up in Ontario and if there is one thing any Canadian knows it's the plight of winter and the desperate need to either escape the cold or lean into it at a ski resort.
Liu has been travelling a lot over the past few years with a jam-packed filming schedule and some personal trips like visiting Hawaii, Thailand, Mexico and too many destinations to count.
The Marvel actor has galavanted around the globe but when it comes to his vacation recommendation he still can't help but shout out Canada – alongside a few tropical destinations.
"My instinct would be to say go somewhere tropical, go to Cancun. Last winter I went to Anguilla, which is crazy [because] maybe two years ago I didn't even know Anguilla existed but it's got some of the most beautiful beaches and amazing people you'll ever meet," Liu told Narcity.
If you're looking to stay local, Liu has plenty of recommendations for Canadians.
"If you're a cold-weather person and you love the slopes then go to Tremblant or go to Whistler. Stay in Canada do a little apres ski," he said.
No matter where you end up this winter, Liu says the most important thing to do on vacation is "replenish yourself" and rest your "body and soul."
What did you think of the streaker at the 2023 Junos?
Simu has had a lot of big wins this year and for the second year in a row he hosted the Juno Awards.
The awards shows went off without a hitch except for the fact that a topless woman managed to get on stage during Avril Lavigne's presentation in an act of political protest.
Lavigne was introducing AP Dhillon to the stage and promptly told the streaker to "Get the f*ck off, b*tch."
Liu says everyone was equally horrified backstage.
"I saw it happening backstage and I was like 'Oh my God,'" said Liu.
"It just went on for another 30 seconds and I wonder if it was because it was just so brazen that the security guard was like 'Oh, well this must be a part of the show.' But for those of us who knew that it wasn't, I think we were just horrified, just standing there watching it happen."
Despite causing a scene and interrupting the punk princess of pop, Liu did have to give the streaker props for bravery.
"It definitely takes something amounting to courage or, you know, that fine line between courage and stupidity," he said.
"I know that that particular woman had a cause that she was there to promote. I don't know what that had to do with breasts [...] I think maybe it got lost in the nudity of it all."
The streaker was protesting the development of the Greenbelt in Ontario in case you were curious.
Have you ever Googled yourself, and what was the most surprising thing you learned?
Celebrities live in a fish bowl where the public's opinion is just one click away.
Liu is human after all and when Narcity asked if he'd ever Googled himself he admitted he's taken a peek online.
"Oh my God, yeah I've done it a couple of times. I would say it's terrible for mental health. Because it's like that thing in high school where it's like if you know people are talking about you, would you rather know what they're saying or not?"
Liu didn't want to get into specifics but he said he's definitely read some untrue things about himself online.
"I think the thing that is hard about this (...) fame thing is you come up in a place where at one point in your career, everything you hear is generally pretty supportive. And then you get to a place and I think that's maybe indicative of where one is at in their career when the negativity starts to happen."
Liu got into a scuffle online in May 2023 when a writer for the HuffPost deemed him an "Asian Thirst Trap" and listed seven other actors who could have taken on his role of Ken in Barbie.
"When a single actor appears to be getting the bulk of Asian male roles in Hollywood, it starts to feel a little less like representation and a lot more like tokenism," reads the HuffPost article.
Simu responded to the hot take on his Instagram story writing "Do you really think that there is a quota of 'Asian male roles' that is a zero-sum game?"
"Everything I have taken post Shang-Chi was not written Asian. We've been able to reshape stories to get more representation onscreen."
Liu says it takes a lot of discipline and strength to accept the fact that he's not going to get through to everyone.
"I'm not going to be able to explain myself to everyone or to tell the truth to everyone. Not everyone's going to want to hear it. Not everyone's going to care, which fair enough, you know?"
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Simu Liu Dishes On Googling Himself & Where Canadians Need To Vacation This Winter (VIDEO)
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