Audiobook Excerpt of "Clip 2" narrated by Simu Liu
We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story |
Audiobook excerpt narrated by Simu Liu.
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Simu Liu: "So, here I am calling you and not telling you anything. Oh, okay. I am definitely not going to tell you who just called to offer me a job. Dude, I have no clue what you're talking ... wait, wait. Yep. Are you serious? Are you fucking serious?" We both screamed in unadulterated joy after I assure him that I am in fact, fucking serious.
After Jason and I hang up the phone, he races over to my apartment and we hatch a plan to record my parents' reaction over FaceTime. He stands just out of my camera's view as I dial my dad's cell anxious to break the news to the people who raised me. Like me, I know they've probably had a bit of trouble eating and sleeping these past few days. I want this call to bring closure not only on this movie but to their entire lives spent in the pursuit of a better life for our family.
I want to tell them that their better life has finally come. The call connects, "Hey Mama, what's going on?" The moment I see my dad, a slender 59-year old man with more salt and pepper in his hair, I feel my throat begin to close up. It's been 30 years since he left his home in China to eventually settle in a suburb outside Toronto, over 20 of which he has been a working professional with dental coverage and yet the man has never bothered to fix his horrendously crooked teeth. I think he was too busy paying for my braces, my education and my apartment to notice that he looked like a jack-o'-lantern whenever he opened his mouth. I should also mention that he cuts his own hair, don't ask me how. "Hey, is Mama home? Can you put her on too?" Mom hates when people know her real age.
So let's just say she's not exactly a spring chicken anymore. You'd never know it looking at her though, she's got a smile that radiates youthful energy and a flawless complexion that owes itself to religious use of Estee Lauder's Night Repair Serum. A White man mistook her for my wife many years ago during a family ski trip and she hasn't shut up about it since. I don't have the heart to tell her that he was probably just trying to hit on her. "Mama. What's wrong? Nothing's wrong." I take a deep breath. "I just wanted to tell you that I got it." It feels like eons before my parents respond. When my dad finally speaks, it sounds like someone's just told them his dry cleaning will be ready on time. "Oh, okay. That's good."
Four days from now, after watching a live stream of me walking out on stage at the San Diego Comic-Con to the thunderous applause of 8,000 diehard fans, my parents will finally understand the significance of landing a role like Shang-Chi. For now though, they are simply happy that I have a job. We talk for a few more minutes about stupid things like money when I see Jason motioning for my attention. "Say I love you," he mouths. I nod already knowing what my parents' response to this will be. Exchanging I love yous was a uniquely Western custom and I had long ago come to terms with the fact that my parents expressed their love in a very different way by telling me to put on a jacket, asking if I had eaten yet or yelling at me when they felt like I wasn't studying hard enough.
The actual words were not a part of our family's vocabulary at all. Still, it would've been pretty nice to hear them say it. "I got to go so I just want to say goodbye and of course I love you. Yeah, yeah, yeah stay calm," my mother says. "A new day has begun," my dad adds wistfully. Maybe they just didn't hear me, just to be sure I double down. "I love you, bye." There's a short pause. Jason and I look at each other wondering if one of them is going to prove us wrong. "Yes, go, go, go," my mom says, "Thank you for letting us know. Yep," my dad chimes in the background. "Bye-bye," beep, the call ends and we both burst out laughing.
That fateful day, the 16th of July in 2019, a single phone call would change my life forever. On that day, I became more than just a comic book character.
I became a part of an idea that everyone deserves to see themselves as superheroes, as the leads of their own stories are simply just as multifaceted beings with hopes and aspirations and flaws. At this point, some of you are probably wondering how I got here, at least I hope that's the case. I mean, you did buy the audiobook after all. Being here and making history with this movie that we should have had a long time ago was a product of more than my own personal struggles, it was also the culmination of everything my parents had fought for. Our stories are one and the same. Our destinies forever intertwined and defined by our sweat, our sacrifice and our unyielding dedication to define the odds and achieving the impossible. That is why I'm writing this book, this is the story I want to tell.
This audio excerpt is provided by HarperAudio.