Simu Liu was honored with the Gold Mogul award at the fifth annual Gold House Gold Gala on Saturday evening in Los Angeles.
Filmmakers Destin Daniel Cretton (who worked with Liu on “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”) and James Wan (on “The Copenhagen Test”) presented Liu with the award. The duo honored the multi-hyphenate for his success as an actor, author, producer and advocate who has established himself as a defining Asian Pacific voice in mainstream Hollywood and a tireless champion for representation on and off screen. During his speech, Liu who recently completed a stint on Broadway in “Oh Mary!,” spoke to the power of the Asian community.
“The only reason that I’m here is 10% being too stubborn to give up, and 90%, the most amazing support system,” Liu said. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what community means to me.”
Liu shared how he first came to Canada 32 years ago and lived in a “ramshackle apartment building in Ontario with a lot of other Chinese grad students.” The families formed tight bonds and helped one another out. Eventually, they would become lifelong friends.
“I learned from a very young age that a community stands together,” Liu explained. “A community supports one another. It does not collapse in on itself. It does not tear itself down. I look out at this room, and I’m just struck by how much power there is. Power in our storytellers, our champions, our leaders, our taste makers. But only together can we fully unleash the potential of that power.”
