Born in the Chinese city of Harbin, Simu Liu spent the first four years of his life raised by grandparents, before immigrating to Canada. He grew up in Erin Mills, an area of Ontario as an only child, where he excelled in maths and business. Naturally, he moved into the world of finance graduating from Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario with honour in 2011 before taking on a role as an accountant at Deloitte.

As most fitness fanatics know, a solid physique may be built in the gym, but it’s revealed in the kitchen. For Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, lead actor Simu Liu undertook an extensive nutrition overhaul, opting for the much-maligned and often-discussed ‘Marvel Diet’. Focusing on reduced 12-hour windows of eating, high-protein food sources and carbohydrate cycling, the diet is critical for lasting success.

In order to maintain a lean figure while building muscle mass, the Marvel food plan utilises a low/low/high-carb cycle with 12-hour minimum fasting between the day’s last meal and next day’s first. Here is the Marvel Diet Scarlett Johansson followed for Black Widow, as outlined by The Hollywood Reporter.

When it came time to don the Marvel moniker, Simu Liu had some serious work to do. Despite having some knowledge of Wing Chun, Taekwondo, and gymnastics, the former accountant wasn’t exactly the superhero shape most fans are used to seeing. That’s where the hyper-mobility based Simu Liu workout plan came in. The actor teamed up with renowned trainer Bart Kwan, who crafted a dedicated Shang-Chi workout regime that encompassed martial arts, strength training and functional fitness, ensuring lean muscle growth. In an interview with Men’s Health, Liu revealed that while bulking up was important, staying agile was critical to the role.