Shang-Chi Star Simu Liu Isn't Happy That People Are Still Using His Old Stock Photos

It’s a rite of passage for actors just starting out: take whatever job that’s offered to you.

For Simu Liu, the star of the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings — Marvel Studios' first Asian-led movie — one such job was a stock photo gig he did back in 2014. And he's unhappy that the photos are still being used, according to a story first reported by Next Shark.

The 30-year-old Chinese-Canadian recently shared a few Instagram Stories of those pictures which he did for $100 (were those American or Canadian dollars?). One photo shows him standing amid a group of PME (Professionals, Managers, and Executives)-looking people; he isn’t difficult to miss — he’s the one with the hard-hat.

In the photo, Liu captioned, “ I did one stock photo shoot for 100 bucks cash in 2014 … and I have ended up on HUNDREDS of ads and storefronts and pamphlets and textbook covers.”

One of the many stock photos Simu Liu took is used in a recruitment ad.

He was paid $100 for these stock photos taken in 2014.

In another caption, he wrote, “Moral of the story: Think twice before doing a stock photo shoot because they own the photos FOREVER.”

Liu once worked as an accountant with Deloitte, one of the ‘Big Four’ audition firms. After he was laid off (“because I was so bad”), he decided to give acting a go. He got his start as an extra on Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim.

The Globe and Mail in 2017 “I’d show up at 4 in the morning, getting paid $11 an hour, significantly less than I was as an accountant."

The Pacific Rim gig led to more opportunities, like the abovementioned stock photo job and various TV appearances, including his break-out role as Jung on the Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience.

Liu didn't say how many shots he did for that stock photo assignment, but is this another one of them — a snapshot on the ‘Shaw Theatres IMAX Family Package’ poster ad?. That guy on the extreme left sure looks a lot like Simu Liu.

Is that Simu Liu (extreme left) in an ad for IMAX?

Filming of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings in Australia has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in cinemas Apr 29 2021; Kim's Convenience is now streaming on Netflix.

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos; Simu Liu/Instagram