“He’s so self-aware”: Simu Liu, er, “delicately” explained Robert Downey Jr.’s very intense on-set Marvel setup
Simu Liu went viral after he described the surprisingly elaborate on-set world Robert Downey Jr. kept while filming Avengers: Doomsday. The story spread quickly, in part due to the diplomatic way Liu spoke about his co-star.
Last year, Marvel confirmed that Downey Jr. would return to the MCU as Victor Von Doom, also known as Doctor Doom. He performed alongside Simu, who returned to his role as Shang-Chi, a superhero who was introduced in the titular film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
What Simu Liu said about "Downey Land"
In a recent interview with Collider, Simu explained that Marvel built an entire mini-world around Downey on set. He said, "Downey famously has this convoy of trailers and this whole area in base camp that we affectionately called Downey Land."
He then described walking in for the first time and seeing "all this beautiful Andy Warhol-esque artwork, except all the characters are Downey. I mean, he’s so self-aware."
Then, the food situation took center stage, as Simu recalled bringing his own lunch, only to be stopped. "So, he greeted me, and then I didn’t realize that Downey Land has its own chefs," he said.
"But I had brought my set lunch, and he was like: 'Oh, no, no, no. We don’t do that here.'" He added that there was a full buffet available to anyone visiting Downey Land.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere stayed surprisingly casual but also a little bit surreal, as superhero actors were walking around half in their costumes at any given time.
"Some people have really uncomfortable costumes, so they like to strip down, or it’s three pieces, and they strip out of two," he said. Still, he framed it as warm and communal.
"It’s all of us just kind of sitting around and talking about our lives and our careers," he added. "Those are priceless, irreplaceable memories that I'll have for the rest of my life."
How people reacted online
The interview circulated on social media, where people found Simu’s tone careful but funny. One viral post from @michaelcollado read, "Simu is so real for saying all this complimentarily to get the info out but also covering his a**. He’d do well working an email job."
Others focused on Downey’s status. @_oatmilf_ wrote, "Actually insane this man used to be unhirable for literally two decades and now hes movie jesus."
At the same time, some comments turned critical of the Iron Man actor. @popculturebitc added, "Mind you he’s getting paid 100 million for these films and yet the crew and special effects employees are getting exploited + marvel move to England to avoid paying health insurance to their employees and lay off 60k workers in Atlanta."
Speculation about the budget spread quickly. "There is absolutely no way the budget for this movie will be under $1 billion," @sirvaldenn wrote. "If anyone tells you that, they are lying."
Others pointed out gendered double standards, with @inotcarly saying, "i want everyone to take a moment and imagine what the reaction to this would be if Brie Larson did this."
Some fans kept things light. @buffbabytyun joked, "I need simu liu and jennifer lawrence in the same room to battle for the most sarcastic dry humor."
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