My work in ‘Barbie’ an appropriate audition for Bollywood: ‘Jackpot!’ star Simu Liu on Indian films

New Delhi, Aug 14 (PTI) Hollywood star Simu Liu says that all the dancing he did in “Barbie” as Ken will hopefully help him land a role in a Bollywood movie.

Liu, who became the first Asian to front a Marvel film with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, stars in a negative role in Prime Video’s comedy film “Jackpot!” that reunites the actor with Awkwafina and John Cena, his co-stars from “Shang Chi…” and “Barbie”.

“I think I’ve made my intentions very, very clear. I would love to be in a Bollywood movie,” Liu told PTI in an interview.

In “Barbie”, Greta Gerwig’s 2023 summer blockbuster, the actor played Rival Ken who often sparred with Ryan Gosling’s Beach Ken. They also have a dance-off on the popular song “I’m Just Ken”.

“Hopefully, my work in ‘Barbie’ is an appropriate audition for Bollywood because there’s a lot that we have in common, a lot of music and dance numbers. I would love to come to India. So I’m putting that out in the universe and hopefully, the universe will give me something back,” the 35-year-old said.

Written by Rob Yescombe and directed by Paul Feig, the filmmaker behind hits such as “Bridesmaids”, “The Heat”, and “A Simple Favor”, “Jackpot!” revolves around Awkwafina’s character Katie, a struggling actor new in a near future California. After Katie wins a lottery, the public is after her life because of a rule that allows the person who kills her to claim all the winning money.

In the comedy, Liu plays Louis Lewis, a character whom he described as a “slick and charming” guy who is also “very enterprising and backstabby”. Lewis befriends Katie and Cena’s Noel with the intention to kill them and take away the money.

“I do think an actor playing a villain is allowed to go to more places and have a little bit more fun. I definitely had a lot of fun on this one and the experience of working with Awkwafina… (again) It felt just like an awesome reunion of sorts and getting to face off against John is… What can I say? Like a childhood dream of mine,” he said.

Liu and Cena, a popular name in the WWE pantheon, closely worked with stunt coordinator James Young who helped them use their physicality to deliver a convincing performance.

“John and I really take this stuff seriously. We geeked out in the preparation process, all of the rehearsals and kind of running choreography in between takes. He’s such a student of life and I appreciated working with him.”

The actor worked with Cena on “Barbie” but they didn’t have any scenes together. Liu, however, got to know that Cena would have a cameo as a Mermaid Ken in the film, an idea that tickled him.

“He shot his cameo with Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie and (him as) Mermaid Ken probably on a soundstage somewhere on his own. When we were shooting it, we were looking at the laser pointer dots in the distance.

“We had no idea what we were looking at and we were just told that it would be John Cena dressed in a mermaid outfit. That was pretty great for imagination, but I didn’t actually get to see him,” he said.

Liu shot to fame with Canadian TV sitcom “Kim’s Convenience” and went on to solidify his stardom as Marvel hero Shang-Chi, a role he hopes to reprise in future.