‘Shang Chi’ Star Simu Liu Signed Onto The ‘Barbie’ Film After His Agent Went Bonkers Over The Script

After Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings officially cemented Simu Liu as a Marvel superstar, the Canadian actor had his choice of roles. One project he immediately jumped on was the live-action Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig. During a recent interview in London where the film is shooting, Liu revealed how he ended up in the star-studded production thanks to an agent who went HAM over the Barbie script. Via GQ:

He was on a group call with his entire team, who ran him through an array of prospective big-budget studio films for him to star in. None of them particularly stood out, until one junior agent spoke up, describing one of the best scripts he’s ever read. “He literally said this verbatim,” Liu recalls. “He was like, ‘If I could stake my career on any one script, it’s the Barbie script. I really think you should do it.’”

According to Liu, he made Gerwig laugh during the audition, which helped him locked down the role that will apparently involve a lot of dancing. Gerwig found it hilarious that Liu had a background in competitive hip-hop dancing, and that was enough to get him on the project. “She audibly guffawed, she giggle-screamed – and then I got the part,” Liu said.

Liu joins an all-star cast that includes Robbie as Barbie, Ryan Gosling as Ken, and a strong comedic presence thanks to Issa Rae, Michael Cera, and Will Ferrell rounding out the production.