Simu Liu on ‘In Your Dreams,’ That “Dumb” AI Extra Take and the Remaining Secrets of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

In Your Dreams is a perfect fit for Simu Liu. He not only wrote the book on dreams via his 2022 memoir, We Were Dreamers, but he’s also a song-and-dance man, something he eagerly proved a few years ago during his Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings interview with The Hollywood Reporter. That’s when he sang pieces of three different songs a cappella.

In Alex Woo’s animated feature directorial debut, Liu plays Michael Ting, a struggling solo musician who’s still clinging to the glory days that he once shared with his former bandmate turned wife, Jennifer (Cristin Milioti). Their indie folk band, The Hypsonics, released a gold record 12 years earlier, but just as their collective music career was about to take flight, Jennifer became pregnant with their now 12-year-old daughter, Stevie (Jolie Hoang-Rappaport).

The Ting family is currently on the verge of splitting apart due to Jennifer’s desire to accept a teaching position and uproot the family against Michael’s wishes. Thus, Stevie and her younger brother, Elliot (Elias Janssen), have to figure out a way to journey into their dreams and find the Sandman (Omid Djalili) so that he can hopefully grant them their wish of preserving their family.

Liu committed to the project before he knew that he and Milioti would be collaborating on an original song called, “The Holding On and The Letting Go,” which will likely contend for a best original song nomination at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards.

“I don’t even think that there was an original song in the script when I first read it. I just fell in love with the story and the themes of it all. I love this idea of showing the imperfections of a family,” Liu tells THR in support of In Your Dreams’ Nov. 14 Netflix release. “When I found out halfway through that we were getting an original song, that was a big pleasant surprise for me. And then hearing that Cristin [Milioti] was going to be on it with me was the absolute cherry on top.”

In 2012, the China-born, Canada-raised actor ditched his accounting job at the time in order to be an extra on Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. This decision turned out to be the most consequential of his life, as he quickly fell in love with the moviemaking process and fully realized that being an accountant was never his dream. Shortly thereafter, his employer laid him off, and Liu took that as a sign that he needed to go all-in on his desire to perform.

So when Canadian businessman —and Marty Supreme actor —Kevin O’Leary recently disparaged background artists for their overall expense compared to AI-generated extras, Liu defended all the aspiring actors who are currently cutting their teeth in the background like he once did.

“I found those first few background gigs that I took on really, really invaluable,” Liu says. “And the fact that someone would try to single out minimum-wage background performers and blame them for the reason why movie production costs are ballooning out of control, it’s, quite simply, out of touch and wrong. I think it was a really dumb take.”

11 years ago, Liu tweeted Marvel Studios, “Great job with Cpt. America and Thor. Now how about an Asian American hero?” Five years later, in 2019, he manifested his dream when he was cast as Shang-Chi in Destin Daniel Cretton’s Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. After the critically acclaimed release of his 2021 solo film, Liu reprised the role on set this past summer in the Russo brothers’ team-up of all team-ups, Avengers: Doomsday. Needless to say, his experience involving a who’s who of Disney and Fox-era Marvel actors bowled him over.

“I don’t want to say the wrong name if they’re not announced [already], but it was like, ‘That’s Sir Ian McKellen, and he’s wearing his superhero costume.’ It was just a really, really special experience. And I think it translates to the screen really, really well,” Liu shares. “It’s going to blow people’s minds when they see it in theaters. There were so many actors and so many characters where you’re like, ‘Just seeing them interact on screen is worth the price of admission alone.’ And then we have all this other stuff on top of that, so I’m really excited about it.”

At this moment in time, he’s also not sure he’s privy to the entirety of the highly secretive story.

“I’m sure there are [parts of Avengers: Doomsday that I am not aware of yet]. I believe I have, in my head, a version of the story that’s been presented to me,” Liu says. “Am I entirely sure that that’s the version that’s going to end up on the screen when the movie comes out next year? Not a whole lot.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Liu also discusses his awareness of what Cretton is up to on Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

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When I last spoke to you, you sang three different songs to me, a cappella, so I wasn’t surprised to see that you’re now playing a singer-songwriter who’s still holding on to his dream.

(Laughs.)

Did that occupation tip the scales in your commitment to In Your Dreams?

Weirdly, no. I don’t even think that there was an original song in the script when I first read it, but I knew that the dad character was a musician. I just fell in love with the story and the themes of it all. I love this idea of showing the imperfections of a family. Sometimes, it’s nobody’s fault that mom and dad just have different ideas on the future that they want to build. They have different ideas on their own individual aspirations, and that’s okay. No family is perfect. No parents have a relationship that’s entirely free of conflict, and when these things happen, it’s not because it’s anyone’s fault. No two human beings can possibly have the same answers and the same opinions all the time.

So it was all of those things that really sold me on the script, and when I found out halfway through that we were getting an original song [“The Holding On and The Letting Go”], that was a big pleasant surprise for me. And then hearing that Cristin [Milioti] was going to be on it with me was the absolute cherry on top. I love her so much as an artist and as a performer, and she’s a phenomenal singer too.

Guillermo del Toro was thanked in the credits, and it reminded me of how you began your career as an extra on Pacific Rim. That experience helped you fall in love with moviemaking, so it makes sense why you defended background artists recently. Were you thinking about the next generation of dreamers and people who don’t like their accounting jobs?

I very much was, yeah. My way into this industry did not come through industry connections, and it didn’t come through any sort of formal training. It came through answering an ad on Craigslist to be a background performer on Guillermo del Toro’s movie. And just to be clear, background performers are not the reason why movies cost so much. I made $11 an hour on that movie, and background performers today make [at least] $15. If you’re in the union, it might get into the twenties per hour. But it’s minimum wage, and it’s hard work.

You typically show up at five or six in the morning, and you spend 16 or 17 hours on set. You’re not treated great either; you’re herded around like cattle. But it’s an extremely educational experience because you get to learn the rudimentaries of camera positioning and how to move with marks. You also get to watch actors take direction in real time in a professional environment, and those are such useful bits of information to have, especially as people who have no other way into the industry. It’s one of the only ways that you can get that access.

So I found those first few background gigs that I took on really, really invaluable. And the fact that someone would try to single out minimum-wage background performers and blame them for the reason why movie production costs are ballooning out of control, it’s quite simply, out of touch and wrong. I think it was a really dumb take.

This is the part where I shamelessly ask you about your extended summer in England. To corral all those names in one place must have been quite a Herculean effort. Were you always gobsmacked by who was around the corner at any given moment on Avengers: Doomsday?

Yeah, I think everybody experiences their own version of imposter syndrome at some point in their lives, and stepping onto set with some of the names that you are alluding to, I definitely felt a lot of that. So, yes, there was the insecurity and the imposter syndrome, but then there was the fun part of, like, “Oh my God, that’s …” I don’t want to say the wrong name if they’re not announced [already], but it was like, “That’s Sir Ian McKellen, and he’s wearing his superhero costume.” It was such a wonderful way to meet somebody that you admire so much. And to get to play in the sandbox with them and, in a lot of cases, play with characters that they had developed over decades, it was just a really, really special experience. And I think that translates to the screen really, really well.

So I think it’s going to blow people’s minds when they see it in theaters. There were so many actors and so many characters where you’re like, “Just seeing them interact on screen is worth the price of admission alone.” And then we have all this other stuff on top of that, so I’m really excited about it.

There’s a ton of security surrounding those films, even for those of you in them. Are there certain parts of Doomsday that even you aren’t aware of yet?

I’m sure there are. I believe I have, in my head, a version of the story that’s been presented to me. Am I entirely sure that that’s the version that’s going to end up on the screen when the movie comes out next year? Not a whole lot.

You have a storied history as Toronto’s premier Spider-Man performer on the birthday party circuit. Thus, has Destin Daniel Cretton shared any tidbits with you about what he’s up to on Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

We’ve exchanged a lot of words and had a lot of conversations about it. It was more so leading up to it, because we were all shooting at Pinewood in London. So it was special just to be in that world, and even though he wasn’t directly on my project, it was still really great to see him ramping up again. He’s such an incredibly thoughtful director, and everyone over there is super lucky to have him. And even in what he’s shared with me, it just proves why he’s the right director for the job. He’s got all the toys in the universe to play with on this one, but he’s really character and story first. So, like everybody else, I just can’t wait to see it.

When you do this job, you sometimes have to file questions away for years at a time, and this is one such example. A few years ago, you and Jessica Henwick did a number of events together, and it was partially in support of your memoir, We Were Dreamers. Was this Jess’ way of saying sorry for not wanting to play your sister in Shang-Chi?

God, you’re really hitting me with the hard ones today. Yeah, Jess moderated my book talk in London three-and-a-half years ago, and it’s crazy that you know that. So, congratulations. I love Jess. We’ve had an amazing friendship for many, many years now, and one of the first things that I ever asked her when we probably met for the first time was: “So is it true that you almost played my sister?” Everyone joked around at the time, and we were all good-natured about it.

Every actor has to make the best decisions for their respective careers, and a lot of thought goes into the either/or. So, Jess, as rightly should be the case, was being presented with many, many opportunities at that time, and I think that she made the best choice for her career. I would’ve really, really enjoyed working with her, and anytime I see anything she’s in, she’s just an incredible performer. So I know, ultimately, the choice that she made, and I’ve seen her in [The Matrix Resurrections]. She’s absolutely phenomenal in it. So, yeah, there’s no hard feelings from our end.

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In Your Dreams premieres Nov. 7 in select theaters, before its Netflix debut on Nov. 14.