Meet Simu Liu

Western Voice 2019 is in less than 5 days and we’re excited to share a little bit about our special guest judge Simu Liu before then!

Born in Harbin, China, Simu immigrated to Canada at a young age and grew up in Mississauga, ON. He previously studied at the University of Toronto Schools and Western University’s Ivey School of Business. Today, he is well known for his role Jung on CBC Televisions Kim’s Convenience and appeared in films such as Pacific Rim and Yappie.

Why did you choose to study at Western University?

“That Saugeen party life!!!!! Haha, for real, it was to make my parents happy. I didn’t really have the grades to get into most elite programs in the country, but I had good writing and math skills which lent itself to business quite nicely. Ivey was one of those programs that your parents could brag to their friends about. So that’s what I chose. Lol.”

When did you decide to pursue a career in acting?

“After I was laid off less than a year after graduation, I answered an ad on Craigslist to be an extra on some movie set to pass some time. That movie turned out to be Pacific Rim. I fell in love and promised myself I’d be the main character someday.”

What was one of the biggest struggles you had to deal while pursing your acting career?

“Just to be able to keep my head up amidst all of the rejection. It’s so easy to get discouraged in this business, especially at the start of your career. I almost gave up many times but could never bring myself to fully do it.”

Most embarrassing moment(s) while filming?

“Honestly, it’s pretty hard to embarrass me, I have no shame lol. Most embarrassing moment for me was probably more in the struggle years… I was doing brand ambassador work as a side gig to help pay the bills, handing out free samples on Bay Street, and one of my former coworkers recognized me.

What is one of your major goals in 2019?

“Finish my feature film script and raise enough money to shoot it! It’s a cute little romcom and I’m really excited to make it.”

We hope you can come out to join Simu, CantoMando and CSA on January 31 for Western Voice 2019! In the meantime, follow Simu on Instagram @simuliu to see what he has been up to.