How many of the stunts and fight scenes in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings did Simu Liu do himself? Influenced by many popular martial arts movies, Shang-Chi contained a lot of fast-paced action scenes that the MCU had not really seen before as Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) squared off against opponents on a moving bus, on scaffolding outside a building, and even atop a mystical dragon. Director Destin Daniel Cretton found inspiration from numerous different martial arts styles to help craft Shang-Chi's impressive choreography.

The movie followed Shang-Chi trying to lead a normal life after running away from his father Wenwu (Tony Leung), the leader of the Ten Rings organization, who had trained him as an assassin from a young age. He kept a low profile as a valet driver with his best friend Katy (Awkwafina), until the Ten Rings inevitably tracked him down on a bus on his way to work. That confrontation led to one of Shang-Chi's most exciting fight sequences as he did his best to stop his attackers while also protecting the other passengers and keeping the bus itself in one piece.

Related: Simu Liu's Biggest Roles Before Shang-Chi

Liu performed many of his own stunts for the Shang-Chi movie, joking to EW that since his face wasn't covered by a mask, he had to do more of his own stunt work than many other Marvel actors. Liu began training extensively soon after the movie was announced in 2019, and those efforts paid off. Fight coordinator Andy Cheng explained (via Insider) that Liu did not even use a stunt double for the more complicated parts of the bus fight sequence near the beginning of the film. "It was all Simu," Cheng stated. "Physically, he is really fit, even from the first time we trained him in Los Angeles. He already came prepared. He does everything. He’s a very talented guy."

Shang-Chi fighting on a bus in Shang-Chi

Yet, even with the best stunt team, risks are always involved with such action-heavy shots. Liu has shared multiple behind-the-scenes videos on his Instagram, including a section of the bus fight where Shang-Chi slides down from the top of the bus and hits the door. Shooting that scene resulted in a minor injury for the actor, who wrote: "When you insist on practical effects, you pay the human price. The bumps and scrapes add up and in my case resulted in my knee swelling up to the size of a tennis ball after this day. Still, they had to drag me off that bus; I wanted to go over and over again, until it was perfect, and then some." His dedication to perfecting each moment was rewarded with Shang-Chi's overwhelmingly positive reviews, with a 92 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

In Shang-Chi, Simu Liu did many of his own stunts, perhaps partially because he couldn't hide his face behind a mask, but also because he genuinely wanted to. Liu wasn't a stranger to stunt work prior to joining the MCU, having previously been a stunt double for Fall Out Boy's song "Centuries" in their 2014 music video. The video had the band members fighting as gladiators in the Roman Colosseum, and Liu filled in for bassist Pete Wentz during the physically demanding shots. Despite this, Liu had no real martial arts experience prior to Shang-Chi, and trained hard to achieve the effortless moves he pulled off in the final product.

Next: Shang-Chi's Ending Repeats A Problem We Thought The MCU Had Evolved Past

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