Stock model photos of Simu Liu before he was famous are going viral following his star turn in the new Marvel movie “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Liu opened up about the images — for which he posed as a construction worker, Zumba class attendee, at work in an office and more — on Friday’s episode of “The Tonight Show.”
The gig was a world away from the “international prestige” of the runway, he told host Jimmy Fallon.
Liu worked for just one day and earned a flat $100 fee, he recalled.
“They own the rights to the photos that they take in perpetuity, which is very, very important,” Liu further explained. “It means the rights never run out which means they could sell these photos and make millions and millions of dollars off of them and the talent would not see a single penny. So that’s what happened to me.”
It’s a point Liu has made before:
Is the door open to share in the hundreds of thousands of $$ you made off those photos cause I was paid a hundred bucks
— Simu Liu (刘思慕) (@SimuLiu) September 7, 2021
Liu took the resurfacing of the images and the memes they’ve inspired in good nature, though. Check out the video here: