Best Of: Comic Bill Burr / Actor Simu Liu

Summary

Fresh Air Episode Summary: "Best Of: Comic Bill Burr / Actor Simu Liu"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Fresh Air
• Host/Author: NPR
• Description: Fresh Air from WHYY in Philadelphia is a Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine exploring contemporary arts and issues through intimate conversations with prominent figures. Hosted by Terry Gross, the show delves deep into the personal and professional lives of its guests.
• Episode: Best Of: Comic Bill Burr / Actor Simu Liu
• Release Date: March 15, 2025

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Interview with Comedian Bill Burr

Exploring Anger and Personal Growth

Bill Burr opens up about his long-standing struggle with anger, tracing its roots back to his upbringing. He reflects on his efforts to manage his temper and the impact it has had on his personal and professional life.

Notable Quote:

“I have been so angry and had this temper and stuff. It was something I never wanted to be. It's something I grew up with.”
— Bill Burr [06:51]

Insights from "Drop Dead Years"

Burr discusses his new comedy special on Hulu, "Drop Dead Years," highlighting a shift towards vulnerability in his material. He contrasts this with his earlier, more rage-fueled humor, illustrating his evolution as a comedian.

Notable Quote:

“It's a weird thing to be over 50, really starting to realize, like, how you are.”
— Bill Burr [05:51]

Managing Public Persona vs. Private Self

Terry Gross probes into whether Burr’s more vulnerable approach in his new special signifies a change in his public or private demeanor. Burr acknowledges the two-dimensional perception of him as merely the "king of rage comedy" and expresses his desire to present a more nuanced self.

Notable Quote:

“Most people that get on a stage, they just sort of watch what you do and then think that this little sliver of you is what you are.”
— Bill Burr [06:51]

The Impact of Cancel Culture on Comedy

A significant portion of the interview delves into Burr's perspective on cancel culture, particularly its effects on comedians. He expresses frustration over the perceived inconsistency in what behaviors warrant cancellation, contrasting the backlash against comedians with the lack of repercussions for extremist groups.

Notable Quote:

“It's phony ideology where what they really do is it's a bunch of white chicks trying to fix their immediate area.”
— Bill Burr [20:25]

Reflections on Past Performances and Future Directions

Burr reflects on his past work, including his roles in "King of Staten Island," the Broadway revival of "Glengarry Glen Ross," and the animated series "F Is for Family." He emphasizes the importance of evolving his comedic style to incorporate a broader range of emotions and perspectives.

Notable Quote:

“What it actually does is it breathes new life into your act because you can now go back and revisit topics you've been to before and have a 360 perspective.”
— Bill Burr [11:54]

Interview with Actor Simu Liu

Deep Dive into "Last Breath"

Simu Liu discusses his role in the new action thriller "Last Breath," portraying deep-sea divers facing life-threatening challenges. He provides an in-depth look into the demanding nature of saturation diving and the film's portrayal of this perilous profession.

Notable Quote:

“Saturation diving, it's one of the most dangerous jobs out there. These divers go down to the bottom of the ocean, they repair oil rigs and gas pipes.”
— Bill Burr [27:37]

Authentic Portrayal and Physical Demands

Liu highlights the physical challenges of filming "Last Breath," including learning scuba diving and adapting to the intense conditions required to authentically represent saturation divers. His commitment to realism underscores the film's dedication to accurately depicting the divers' environment.

Notable Quote:

“It was really nice for us to actually go out and do it because in this industry it's become increasingly easy to lie to the audience.”
— Bill Burr [33:24]

Journey from "Kim's Convenience" to Hollywood Stardom

Simu Liu reflects on his transition from his breakthrough role in "Kim's Convenience" to becoming Marvel's first Asian superhero in "Shang Chi." He discusses the significance of representation in Hollywood and his journey towards more diverse and challenging roles.

Notable Quote:

“When are we gonna have an Asian version of Thor or Cap? When are we gonna have our superhero avenger guy that we could look up to?”
— Bill Burr [48:58]

Balancing Personal History with Professional Life

Liu shares insights from his memoir, "We Were An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story," exploring the complexities of growing up with immigrant parents and the pressures of living up to their expectations. He delves into themes of cultural identity and the struggle to reconcile personal desires with familial obligations.

Notable Quote:

“I feel like I've lived pretty much every single rung of the socioeconomic ladder.”
— Simu Liu [42:02]

Creative Collaborations and Improvisation

The conversation touches on Liu's collaborative experiences, including working with renowned director Greta Gerwig on "Barbie." He emphasizes the importance of improvisation and creative freedom in his roles, citing his dynamic interactions with co-stars like Nora Awkwafina.

Notable Quote:

“Nora Awkwafina is a really, really good friend of mine today still, and just brought back a lot of amazing memories.”
— Bill Burr [50:12]

Conclusion

In this episode of Fresh Air, Terry Gross engages in profound and candid conversations with Bill Burr and Simu Liu, exploring themes of personal growth, representation, and the challenges of modern comedy and acting. Burr’s introspection on his anger and evolving comedic style offers a glimpse into his journey towards a more balanced persona, while Liu’s discussion highlights the intersection of cultural identity and breakthrough roles in Hollywood. Together, their dialogues provide listeners with valuable insights into navigating personal struggles and achieving professional success in the entertainment industry.

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Notable Timestamped Quotes:

• Bill Burr on Anger:
  “I have been so angry and had this temper and stuff. It was something I never wanted to be.” ([06:51])

• Bill Burr on Comedy Evolution:
  “What it actually does is it breathes new life into your act because you can now go back and revisit topics you've been to before and have a 360 perspective.” ([11:54])

• Simu Liu on Saturation Diving:
  “Saturation diving, it's one of the most dangerous jobs out there.” ([27:37])

• Simu Liu on Representation:
  “When are we gonna have our superhero avenger guy that we could look up to?” ([48:58])

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of the episode, providing listeners with an engaging overview of the insightful discussions between Terry Gross, Bill Burr, and Simu Liu.

Transcript

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[Tonya Moseley]

From WHYY in Philadelphia, this is FRESH AIR weekend. I'm Tonya Moseley. Today, comedian Bill Burr, lately he's been trying to control his anger.

[Bill Burr]

Like what you literally saw in this interview is a day of being me. It's like me starting the day. I'm not gonna flip out. I am going to be this happy, da da da da. And then before 11am flipping out, he.

[Tonya Moseley]

Traces his anger issues to his upbringing.

[Terry Gross]

Let's talk a little bit about your childhood.

[Bill Burr]

Oh, Jesus. People are driving to work here, you know, let's try to give them something uplifting.

[Tonya Moseley]

We'll also hear from actor Simu Liu. He's best known for his breakout role, Shang Chi, Marvel's first Asian superhero, and being a rival kin in the film Barbie. Now he stars with Woody Harrelson in the new movie Last Breath about deep sea divers who perform a life saving rescue. That's coming up on FRESH AIR weekend.

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[Tonya Moseley]

This is FRESH AIR weekend. I'm Tonya Moseley. Terry Gross has our first interview.

[Terry Gross]

My guest, Bill Burr, was recently described by New York Times comedy columnist Jason Zinneman as one of the greatest living standup comics. In Rolling Stone, Burr was described as the undisputed heavyweight champ of rage fueled humor. Bill Burr has a new comedy special on Hulu called Drop Dead Years. Here's an excerpt. He's talking about driving on the freeway in LA where he lives when he's caught in bumper to bumper traffic. Meanwhile, there's hardly any cars in the HOV lane, the high occupancy vehicle lane, which is reserved for vehicles with at least two people. He's tempted to get into that lane even though there's no one else in his car. But he knows the HOV rules are strictly enforced.

[Bill Burr]

I could go in there by myself, okay? But if there's a cop there, I'm gonna get pulled over. I'm gonna get yelled at. I get a ticket and my insurance goes up. I am not allowed to do that. However, I can still join the Klan.

I can join the Ku Klux Klan and not get in trouble, right? I don't get yelled at. I don't get a ticket, no insurance goes up. I could drive down the highway in my Klan outfit as long as I had the mud flap up. All right? It could say Grand Dragon on the front of the sheet. I could have a White Power bumper sticker. I could have a Hitler bobblehead right on the dashboard just sitting there going like that. I would not get pulled over unless I went into the HOV lane, right? Yeah. And then I wouldn't get pulled over because I joined a terrorist organization. I would get pulled over cause I didn't have another terrorist with me. That's what the problem would be. And the cop would be coming up like, well, well, well, aren't we in a hurry to get to the Cross Burden this evening, huh? Who the hell you think you are, buddy?

[Terry Gross]

Okay. That's Bill Burr from his new comedy special. He's also one of the stars of the new Broadway revival of the David Mamet play Glengarry Glen Ross. The revival has an incredible cast, Burr, Kieran Culkin, Bob odenkirk and Michael McKean. Burr co starred in the film King of Staten island, which was loosely based on the life of the film's star, Pete Davidson. Burr co created, co wrote and starred in the animated series F Is for Family. Although he's known for comedy that's often contrarian and angry. The new comedy special Drop Dead Years opens like this.

[Bill Burr]

It's kind of a weird thing to be over 50, really starting to realize, like, how you are. Like, I thought I did stand up because I loved comedy. And then what I really figured out was like, no, that's not why I did it. I did stand up because that was the easiest way to walk into a room full of a bunch of people that I didn't know and make everybody like me.

Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Burr.

The way I've moved through the world has always been like, where's the place I have the least chance of being heard?

[Terry Gross]

Bill Burr, welcome to FRESH air. It's a pleasure to have you on the show.

[Bill Burr]

What's going on? How are you?

[Terry Gross]

I'm good. It seems unusual for you to start on a note of vulnerability like you do in this new special. Does this mark a change in your public or private self?

[Bill Burr]

It's something I've kind of been going towards. But also I don't think, you know, like, most people that get on a stage, they just sort of watch what you do and then think that this little sliver of you is what you are or whatever. Like that Rolling Stone thing saying that I was the king of rage comedy, you know, and it's in Rolling Stones. So everybody listens to it. So then they just think I'm walking around just furious all the time. It's two dimensional. So. And then there's also part of me that really hates the fact that I have been so angry and had this temper and stuff. It was something I never wanted to be. It's something I grew up with. And, you know, you think to yourself, like, I'm not doing that. I'm not gonna be like this person. Cause they're making me feel bad as a kid. And then you grow up and you end up. It's the weird thing in order to not be it. I think a lot of times you have to be it for a while. And it's weird. It takes somebody else in your life to let you Know that that's how you're being. Because a lot of times you just dialed it down a little bit. And to you that means you've leveled off. Like, where your normal is, is not where normal people's normal is. So you're like, what? You know, I didn't throw across the room. I'm an easy going. I let stuff roll off my back.

[Terry Gross]

So who was the person who told you? Was it your wife, your therapist?

[Bill Burr]

Everybody in my life, everybody. People reviewing my act, my wife. You know, there's only, like, you can only argue your point, you know, for so long. I mean, when like a hundred people in the row are going like, nah, you know, you're pretty angry, you know, you got like, all right, I guess I gotta look at this. But it's been like a great thing. But, like, I don't know, I listen to people. I try to anyway. So when they come at me with something, you know, if it makes sense, okay, if it makes sense, and I'm in an emotional state that I can actually hear somebody else, which sometimes that might take a day for me to think about something. I am the king of a day. Later being like, hey, you know, you know that thing I was arguing last night? Yeah, you were right. I'm sorry.

[Capella University]

I just.

[Bill Burr]

I don't know why. And you know, the torture right now is I find myself in the moment now knowing I'm wrong or knowing I should just stop this argument and it's not worth it. And I've gotten to the point that that voice is getting louder in my head, but I haven't been able to act on it in the moment, and that's what I'm working towards. I would love to be in the middle of some stupid argument with my wife or whoever and just be able to stop in the middle of it and just be like, what are we doing? Life is flying by. This isn't worth anything. You know, this isn't worth it. Who cares? You know, something like that.

[Terry Gross]

At the start of your new special, you said that you started doing stand up because it was the easiest way of walking into a room and making people like you.

[Bill Burr]

They would like me so they wouldn't hurt me.

[Terry Gross]

So what kind of hurt are you talking about? Insults or being ignored, bullied, mocked?

[Bill Burr]

Every way that you can be abused is what I'm talking about.

[Terry Gross]

Have you been abused in all those ways?

[Bill Burr]

Oh, yeah. I got the trifecta. I have the background needed to become a comedian. So, yeah, it just was. It's just how it was. And it's just the time I grew up in and it was just the way it was. And there was a lot of it. There was a lot of it. I did not have a unique experience growing up. I kind of feel like I had the standard, especially from talking to people, or maybe I just hang out with too many comedians, I don't know what, but we all kind of had a similar background. And when you go through stuff like that, you come out the other side. It kind of seems one of two ways. You either come out being like, I'm not doing that. And then what's funny is you overcorrect, you become super empathetic to the point you could end up in the trunk of somebody's car, like, oh, I'll help you out, stranger, you know, or you go the other way is like you become an abuser. So fortunately, I didn't do that. But I have been guilty of being abusive, not realizing, you know, the effect that my behavior and my anger was having on the people around me. Because in my world, I wasn't as angry as what I saw growing up. So in my world, I wasn't angry. It wasn't a big deal. What I've actually found is, you know, that whole myth that you can't be happy and still be funny is a myth. And what it actually does is it breathes new life into your act because you can now go back and revisit topics you've been to before and have a 360 perspective instead of like, like I always view like my standup. Like the first 75% of my career is me standing on stage, pointing at the crowd, figuratively, literally, or at, at whatever subject. And I was always the guy that knew everything and da, da, da, da, da, you know, and the, the last, like, you know, six, seven year, whatever. I don't know. I've more been looking at my participation in whatever event is happening. So then all that does is it gives me way more twice as many options for the punchline Now. I don't know, I feel lighter on stage lately. I don't feel, you know, there was times I would even have good stats and I would get off stage and just feel like, God, what was that? What was that? That did not feel good. Even though the response was good, but it just kind of felt like it just, it didn't feel good because it.

[Terry Gross]

Was mean.

[Bill Burr]

It was gross. It was just dark, ugly, just pain and hurt just coming out the wrong, the wrong way where. Which is so funny because some of the comedians that I loved the most. The way that they processed their pain was a very empathetic sort of way, which I would say Richard Pryor was the king of that, where you could he just really had this ability of talking about his mistakes that he made in a way that you could see that it bothered him that he did some of these things. And it also made you root for him. Like I, I felt like that was the biggest thing I had as far as being a fan of his work was beyond finding it hilarious and jaw droppingly brilliant was I found that I was rooting for him in his personal life as he was going through all these marriages and divorces and problems with the cops and drug abuse and lighting himself on fire. Like he, you know, he's just like, I don't know, I loved the guy and I was just hoping he was going to find peace.

[Tonya Moseley]

We're listening to Terry's interview with comic Bill Burr. His new comedy special Drop Dead Years is now streaming on Hulu. We'll hear more of their conversation after a short break. I'm Tanya Moseley and this is FRESH AIR Weekend.

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[Terry Gross]

I want to back up a little because when you were describing your anger and trying to like, change, you said you realized you'd been abusive. Do you mean verbally or physically?

[Bill Burr]

Oh, no, no. Verbally.

[Terry Gross]

Good. I just wanted to clarify that.

[Bill Burr]

Okay. I'll give you a classic example of that was my thing was I grew up and I saw men calling women all the time and I saw the looks on their faces and I saw so I, I Made this rule in my head. I was never gonna do that. And I never did it. I've never done that and never done that to anybody. I don't think in a, I've never done it in a relationship. I might have done it driving in a car. I'm sure I have.

[Terry Gross]

That's one of the things you've talked about, is that you had real road rage.

[Bill Burr]

Sometimes I don't even think that's fair me to say I have road rage. I have rage. And now I'm in a car, so now it's on the road. I have road rage. I have kitchen rage. I have. Why do I have to check myself out at a CVS rage. I don't work here. You know what I mean? I love when they like giving you like a rough time, like you gotta insert the chip. It's like, I'm sorry I missed training day when I wasn't working here, getting paid. Or when they try to get all your information and then they go, you know, we don't share this with anybody. And you want to be like, you don't. You don't like. This is my thing with politicians. The fact that the lack of privacy for the average American citizen, especially women, with the amount of women out there that have psycho ex boyfriends, the fact that all of these stupid corporations are just allowed to do the things that they're able to do is beyond me. And where my comedy act is right now is I'm trying to get regular people to stop yelling at each other and realize that it's a select few group of nerds, okay, eating raw almonds and doing their stupid workouts and everything and just competing with each other to have the biggest infinity pool. And the rest of us are getting pushed down and they've politicized the whole stupid thing and we're falling for it.

[Terry Gross]

And who's the they besides people who eat almonds.

[Bill Burr]

That idiot Elon Musk. Oh, that guy. Like, he's gonna. Who evidently is a Nazi. Like, I just refuse to believe that it was an accidental two time sieg heil. And he does it at a presidential inauguration. This is why I hate liberals. It's like liberals have no teeth whatsoever. They just go, oh my God, can you believe I'm getting out of the country? I'm just like, you're gonna leave the country cuz of one guy with dyed hair, plugs and a laminated face who runs? Who makes a bad car and has an obsolete social media platform? You're gonna leave this? Why doesn't he leave? Why isn't he stopped? What are we so afraid of? This guy who can't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, you.

[Terry Gross]

Can take him on.

[Bill Burr]

Like, what is the. Why. Why do liberals just sit back and not. They just. They have nothing.

[Terry Gross]

What are you doing? This, okay?

[Bill Burr]

This. You got to speak up about it. You don't just go like, oh, my God.

What?

Like, listen, first of all, it's like, I'm a standup comedian. It's not my friggin. I'm talking about, like, Democratic politicians. Where is their pushback? They're allegedly liberal. You see this guy do this thing. You know what the end result of this thing is?

[Terry Gross]

Which?

[Bill Burr]

All these Neo Nazis, not only are they stupid because they're Neo Nazis, they don't even look at what Hitler did. He ruined their country. And this idiot is going to try to lead us down that road and then play it off and act like he didn't do what he just did. And you can get canceled as a comedian for doing a frigging Caitlyn Jenner joke, but this ass can seek Heil and nothing. Where are all the liberals? Where are all of these white chicks at the award shows? They were speaking truth to power. Where are they? Why did they choose to go after comedians and not the Ku Klux Klan? How come they never got canceled? That's my whole problem with liberals. I just think it's a phony ideology where what they really do is it's a bunch of white chicks trying to fix their immediate area. Like, they really took on entertainment because they were in entertainment and then they didn't do anything else.

[Terry Gross]

I'm gonna stop you. You just blamed all of this on white women.

[Bill Burr]

Yes, because they contributed.

[Terry Gross]

Where are the men in what you're saying?

[Bill Burr]

Exactly? Cause you guys went in and you totally took control of the narrative. That whole me too thing was supposed to be about people with no power speaking to people with power and giving more people opportunities, which meant people of color. And then all of a sudden, white women jumped in and became, like, the biggest victims in the country. They were the ones that were being listened to. That was what was weird to me.

[Terry Gross]

This is where you kind of lose me.

[Bill Burr]

It doesn't surprise me on this station talking to a white woman that I would lose you.

[Terry Gross]

Well, no, because the MeToo movement for women is about sexual assault. But then what did it become or.

[Bill Burr]

What did it morph into? What did it quickly morph into? It then morphed into. I don't like the topic of what you're discussing in your standup act.

[Terry Gross]

Well, I don't want to get into an argument about this, so I'll just.

[Bill Burr]

Say, well, what's funny is this is how I discuss things.

[Terry Gross]

I will just say that. What was the thing that you just said? I just lost it for a second, trying to.

[Bill Burr]

I'm saying what it became. It started off like, all right, this Harvey Weinstein guy is raping people. We gotta get people like this out of the business. There was nobody who was against that unless you were an actual.

[Terry Gross]

People were protecting him. You know, people were protecting the musicians, the.

[Bill Burr]

I'm not arguing that aspect of it. I'm not arguing that aspect of it.

[Terry Gross]

Anyhow, let's move on.

[Bill Burr]

Wait, no, no, no, no, no. Let's talk about that.

[Terry Gross]

We're not going to. Me too.

[Bill Burr]

Started with that. And then it started. This cancel cultural thing with. Initially, they were getting these people that were sexually assaulting women and because of their position of power, were not being held accountable. They finally got held accountable. Everyone who was a decent human being was on board with that. And then suddenly, within a year, it became. If you were at a comedy club and somebody filmed you and took one little piece of excerpt from your act, all of a sudden you were thrown in with Harvey Weinstein and you were kicked. You were, like, put on the bench, basically. And you were not allowed to work in the frigging business. Am I nuts? Did that not happen?

[Terry Gross]

No. I mean, I think cancel culture probably went too far. I think it's an issue by issue theory.

[Bill Burr]

We agree.

[Terry Gross]

Okay. And there's a real kind of herd mentality around some of it. I think that's really up for a nuanced discussion about what deserves cancellation and what's just like.

[Bill Burr]

Nuanced discussion is not one of my strong points.

[Terry Gross]

Okay. Anyhow, we've been talking about anger and also channeling that into your work as an actor and a comic. I watched a clip of you on the Moth. The Moth is a storytelling podcast that is also a public radio program. And you're so different in that you're sitting on a stool, not kind of pacing back and forth on the stage. You hadn't shaved your head yet, so you have red hair, and you hadn't gone bald yet.

[Bill Burr]

It was almost like you were 20 years younger. You had a fresh face.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah, that one was recorded about 20 years ago.

[Simu Liu]

You were bald.

[Bill Burr]

You were a single man dealing with the altitude, so.

[Terry Gross]

But you're just. You're sitting on a stool telling a story that has a Few laughs in it.

[Bill Burr]

But no, you know what it is? That's what I was battling, and that's why I couldn't get any good roles. The greatest thing that ever happened to me is I went bald for my acting career because then I shaved my head and I look like the psycho idiot that I am. But back in the day when I actually. When I had hair, you know, Hollywood, you know, they talk about just, you know, racism and sex, everything. It goes beyond that. Like, they even. Like, they even divide up redheads. There was, like, rules about redheads. I was in the redhead drawer, okay? I was in the opie Ron Howard, Howdy Doody drawer. And, like, I didn't get the gun. I didn't win the fight. I didn't get the girl. I was a mugging victim. I was just there for the cool guy. And I was saying, I used to do a joke in my act. Like, I'm not the hero of the action movie. Like, I was the nerd in the van when Tom Cruise is going, you gotta give me more time. And I would be in front of the keyboard.

All right, I'll try.

Click, click, click, click, click. Like.

[Terry Gross]

I just want to say, in case it's not clear, I think you're hilarious. There's some jokes where I stand back and I go, hmm. I'm not sure how to take that. But I think you're a great.

[Bill Burr]

There's a lot of stuff I've done. I look, I go, did I say that? You know. You know, it happens.

[Terry Gross]

I love your voice. I love your delivery. I love your spontaneity.

[Bill Burr]

I'm waiting for having said that.

[Terry Gross]

No, no. However.

[Bill Burr]

However.

[Terry Gross]

No, no. The only however is sometimes I just don' and I can interpret it one of two ways.

[Bill Burr]

That's the great thing about comedy. Well, I had a great time talking with you, and I had a great time debating with you, and I really like you.

[Terry Gross]

Oh, gosh.

[Bill Burr]

Even though we didn't line up on everything, but I liked that.

[Terry Gross]

Oh, thank you.

[Bill Burr]

I like that we didn't.

[Terry Gross]

I really enjoyed it. Thank you.

[Bill Burr]

All right. Thank you so much. I'll see you.

[Tonya Moseley]

Bill Burr's new comedy special, Drop Dead Years is streaming on Hulu. Our next guest today is actor Simu Liu. He's best known for his breakout role as Shang Chi, Marvel's first Asian superhero, in the film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Now he stars with Woody Harrelson in the new film Last Breath. He spoke with fresh airs. Anne Marie Baldonado, actor Simu Liu has.

[Simu Liu]

Taken on some roles that are pretty physically challenging. He does killer fight sequences in the film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. And who can forget him dancing as one of the Kens in the movie Barbie? His latest film may be even more extreme. The action thriller Last Breath is based on the true story of deep sea divers in peril at the bottom of the North Sea in 2012, three divers were embarking on a routine dive when rough weather and computer errors caused one diver's umbilical cable to get stuck, leaving him trapped.

[Terry Gross]

What happens now?

[Bill Burr]

Your umbilical, it's gonna snap. You'll get pulled off the structure. Now, I will come back for you, but you have to do something for me, okay? You have to get yourself back to the top of the manifold. I can't rescue you if I can't find you. Understand?

[Simu Liu]

That's Simu Liu, with Fin Cole as the diver who stuck with only minutes of reserve oxygen left. Simu Liu's character with another diver, played by Woody Harrelson, desperately try to bring the trapped diver back to safety. Simu Liu's first big break was in the CBC Netflix comedy Kim's Convenience, which ran for five seasons. He says being fired from his accounting job is what helped him take the leap into acting. His best selling memoir, We Were An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story, explores his family's immigration to Canada, his struggles growing up with immigrant parents, the challenges of breaking into the industry, and of being an Asian Canadian in Hollywood. Simu Liu, welcome to Fresh air.

[Bill Burr]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Simu Liu]

This new movie, Last Breath, is about saturation divers. Can you explain what saturation divers do?

[Bill Burr]

It's a very blue collar job. It's very dangerous. It's workers that work in the bottom of the sea, in the bottom of the ocean, performing, you know, kind of routine maintenance and repair on pipelines, on, you know, underwater structures. It's typically extremely dark. There's not a lot of visibility. And the living conditions of these saturation divers is just so. It's unlike anything, I think, that is really out there in the world, except for maybe like an astronaut living in space. So in order for those divers to be able to operate that far beneath sea level, you know, because of the differential and atmospheric pressure, they actually have to live in a pressurized kind of tube onboard a ship for 28 days. And during that time, typically it's three divers that go into sat together in one chamber, but they're living kind of on top of each other. The chamber is very, very small. You know, you're typically going to the bathroom like less than three feet away from where you're sleeping for a month. For a month straight. Yeah. With the same, you know, two other guys. And when it's time to go to work, you, you all go into this like little sphere, this bell structure, but it's lowered down to depth, at which point the divers then come out, they're hooked up to the bell and then, you know, to the surface of the ship through an umbilical that feeds them all of their gas and their heat and their power. And then they'll conduct these operations on the bottom of the sea for eight hour shifts at a time. So it's like a really. There's nothing glamorous about this job. And yet, you know, there were many sat divers that were available to us over the course of shooting this movie. And some of them were the actual characters that we played in the movie. But the one thing that we found in common with all of them is just how much they loved it, which was very confusing to us.

[Simu Liu]

Well, right. Saturation diving, it's one of the most dangerous jobs out there. These divers go down to the bottom of the ocean, they repair oil rigs and gas pipes, and it's to provide the infrastructure of the way people live their lives. And your character, David, you is based on a real diver, just like you said. It's based on a real diver who made this rescue. You talk to him. It occurs to me it might be the first time you're playing a real living person. What was that like? What did you learn from him?

[Bill Burr]

To have someone have done something as extraordinary as Dave did and he doesn't care for any of the accolades, he doesn't care for any of the recognition when he's like the closest thing to a real superhero that there is. He threw himself into the bottom of the sea to rescue his co coworker who had been trapped there. So he wound up finding an unconscious Chris Lemons on the bottom of the North Sea, clipped Chris onto him and then climbed his umbilical back up to the bell, which is about, you know, it was like more than 50 foot climb, you know, in the swell in the sea, which was very turbulent at the time, and successfully recovered him and then, you know, revived him. Like, that's incredible. That's a miracle.

[Simu Liu]

Yeah, he was essentially doing like that what people do in gym class, climbing the rope. And you know, he has his co worker whose life he's trying to save and it's just like the most high stakes row Clay you could ever imagine.

[Bill Burr]

Yeah, that's right. And SAT equipment, you know, it's not light. You know, you've got like a 50 pound helmet that you're wearing. And then you've got, you know, your bailout oxygen, which is at least another, you know, 30 pounds. And then you've got weights in your shoes because, you know, of course, they're not fins. You're not like recreationally diving. You have to have, you know, be boots on the ground and to be able to conduct your work. So, yeah, just. It's a lot of weight.

[Simu Liu]

What was this shoot like? Were you shooting in extreme conditions? Because you play one of these divers who's at the bottom of the North Sea as you've described. You know, you're in this little tin can, kind of isolated. Even when there isn't a crisis, it's this isolated environment. Did you shoot that way?

[Bill Burr]

It was pretty evident, you know, reading the script the first time that it wasn't gonna be a cakewalk. You know, we knew that we were gonna have to do a significant port underwater and or in these really, really tight spaces. It was like three, four weeks of kind of diving every day, pretty much starting from square one, Learning kind of not only the basics of scuba and then getting quite proficient at that, but then also at some point, unlearning a lot of the recreational scuba diving kind of mantras and philosophies and then relearning them in a SAT capacity. Because again, the equipment is very different. What you're trying to do is very different. And we had an incredible dive team around us that supported us and really kind of made us feel safe every day. That being said, we had a tank in Malta that was about 40ft deep. And for, you know, every night we'd go down into the water and we'd communicate ahead of time exactly the shots that we wanted to get. And in a way, you know, obviously challenging, but in a way, it was really. It was really nice to be able to immerse ourselves to that degree. Especially in a world where I feel like in this industry it's become increasingly easy to lie to the audience. You know, you've got green screen, you've got vfx, you've now got AI, you know, making it very easy for actors to not really have to do anything or to exist in very comfortable situations. And I think in that environment, it was really nice for us to actually go out and do it.

[Tonya Moseley]

Actor and writer Simu Liu, speaking with Anne Marie Baldonado. His films include Shang Chi The Legend of the Ten Rings Barbie and his new film Last Breath. More after this break. I'm Tonya Mosley and this is FRESH AIR Weekend.

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[Simu Liu]

Want to play a scene from Barbie. It's near the beginning of the movie. The main Ken, played by Ryan Gosling has just tried to quote unquote beach. He was trying to run towards the water and he ends up hitting the plastic wave and he gets knocked down. And you play his number one op Ken, like his nemesis Ken. And you're laughing at him. And the other Ken in this scene is Kingsley, Ben Adir and Margot Robbie as Barbie is also here too. Let's hear it.

[Bill Burr]

Oh, looks like this beach was a little too much beach for you, Ken. If I wasn't severely injured, I would beat you off right now, Ken. I'll beach off with you any day, Ken. Hold my ice cream, Ken. All right, Ken, you're on. Anyone who wants to beach him off.

Has to beach me off first.

I will beach both of you off at the same time. Are you gonna beach both of us? And he can beat yourself.

I'm gonna beach both of us off.

[Simu Liu]

Nobody's gonna beach anyone off.

[Bill Burr]

Okay, let's go.

[Simu Liu]

Betsy Mulu in the 2023 film Barbie. How did you come to be part of this film?

[Bill Burr]

I did a tape. I met up with Greta and I kind of talked a little bit about my like dance background. Cause Greta has kind of an obsession with dance and, you know, musical theater and really just like spectacle and production, especially as it pertains to men doing it. And I think it was something that she really wanted in the movie was, you know, Kens that kind of were always felt like they were performing to an audience that weren't there. And you know, I told her about some of my dance background. I was like on my university hip hop competitive dance team or something and she seemed to really love that. And you know, in our first few rehearsals I think Greta came up to me and was like, I think you are gonna be like Ryan's main rival, Ken. And I was like, that's insane. And she's like, yeah, you're gonna ride into battle against him on a beach of pink sand and you're gonna fight using lacrosse sticks and you know, pool floaties and things. And I was like, what is this movie? Greta Gerwig.

[Simu Liu]

Yeah, you do show off your dance moves and as you mentioned, you did a lot of dance when you were at university. Can you talk about what your dance troupe was like?

[Bill Burr]

Yeah. So you know, freshman year of college a lot of people are worrying about their studies or their partying or whatever. And for me I was like meeting up three times a with the hip hop Western dance team. And I think it was where I kind of found my love of performing especially, you know, I think growing up, you know, I went to a very academically inclined high school and really, you know, had to had to navigate my parents expectations for most of my childhood and they were definitely pushing me to be, you know, they were both electrical engineers, definitely wanted me to follow in their footsteps and if not that, then definitely, you know, medicine stem. Didn't want any of that for myself. You know, I wanted to kind of, I guess be, be out there and be seen and dance to the music and to the beat.

[Simu Liu]

You were born in Harbin, China and you were raised there by your grandparents while your parents were trying to start a life in Canada. What do you remember about that time, those early years?

[Bill Burr]

You know, I remember, I remember flashes and feelings. But I do remember we had this tiny little ramshackle apartment in Harbin. You know, there wasn't running water for many parts of the day. The water wasn't drinkable so we had to boil everything that we drank and there was no hot water. So anytime anyone had to take a bath, it was always kind of a bit of a thing. Although for me I had no reference point. I just thought that that was how people lived. But I also, more than all of that, I remember this overwhelming sense of safety and belonging, you know, with my grandparents, my Yeye and my Nai Nai. I was very, very close with them. You know, they were my parents for all Intents and purposes. And they had always tried to tell me that I had a mom and a dad that were, you know, abroad and that one day I would join them. But I don't think these words necessarily mean anything to like a three or a four year old. It was very difficult for me to grasp. And when my dad did show up one day, I was about four and a half to, you know, bring me back to Canada with him. It was very uncomfortable for me and a lot for me to accept because, you know, I had my family and I loved my grandparents more than anything. And my dad at that point was a stranger. I very, very vividly remember watching him step through the door for the first time. And, you know, when you're a kid and all these adults are looking at you like you're supposed to be reacting a certain way, I very clearly remember my grandparents looking at me and saying, this is your dad, like, go to him. And I just remember being like, I don't want to.

[Simu Liu]

Yes, you're picked up by your dad when you're almost five and you move to live with your parents in Canada. What do you remember about those early years, living with your parents who you didn't really know and trying to like, acclimate yourself to this new country?

[Bill Burr]

It is a couple of funny things. I remember not understanding English. Like, I remember being brought to daycare my very first day and just crying my eyes out the entire time because nobody was speaking. Like I couldn't understand anybody. And I remember that's what it was for the longest time. And I know I was learning English through flashcards and my parents were trying to teach me. And then one day it just kind of clicked. And I'm sure that's not how it actually happened. Right. Like, we remember things very differently as children, but it honestly felt to me like one day I woke up and like my brain had switched between thinking in Mandarin and thinking in English. And I remember my parents were very confused because I think one day I just stopped speaking Chinese to them. But, you know, once I made the switch, I really kind of embraced it. And I remember those early years just that we were very, very poor. You know, my parents were living off of scholarship money until they graduated. My. My parents were doing their postgraduate studies, and once they were able to get jobs, our living conditions slowly started to improve. But for the longest time, this was a very unglamorous foray into Canada. A lot of our furniture was kind of picked up off the street. Yeah, I don't know, when I look back it really gives me, I think, a unique perspective because I do feel like I've lived pretty much every single rung of the socioeconomic ladder. And I know what it feels like not to have running water, you know, and then I know what it feels like to be, you know, to live in a place as wonderful as Canada. But, you know, you know, starting off at the very bottom as well.

[Simu Liu]

In your memoir, you write about how difficult it was for you growing up as a teenager with your parents and their unrealistic expectations for you. What was so hard about your relationship back then and your teens?

[Bill Burr]

Yeah, I think when you have parents who weren't necessarily present in your formative years, in the first five years of life, that's when a lot of your personality is solidified and when you don't have that bond, there's bound to be a little bit of distance. And I was effectively adopted by my own biological parents on the other side of that, for my parents, and to their defense, they also weren't necessarily in the rhythm of childcare. It's a never ending job in and of itself. And so I think to have one day no kid and then overnight have a five year old just dropped into your life, I think is pretty violent change. And so, yeah, I mean, I think growing up there was definitely, you know, some tougher times for us to get along. And it really came to a head when I was a teenager, when I went through puberty. I think I was actually pretty good in the beginning of being the perfect kind of immigrant kid and getting good grades. But then I got older and hormones happened and of course every kid starts to get to a place where they're questioning their parents. And for me, I knew that I was being pushed in a certain way and I really wanted to do sports and I wanted to, you know, have a girlfriend and do all these normal people things that my parents, you know, being from a different generation, a different culture, were like, why are you concerned about these things? You should be focused on your studies. And it really just came down to just very, very different values.

[Simu Liu]

Your memoir is this beautiful, I think, way to try to reconcile what a lot of Asian American and Asian Canadian children of immigrants go through. That tension between knowing that your immigrant parents gave up. So. But they put all this pressure on you to succeed in a way that they understand, and it's not open to other ways of life. And I feel like you telling the story of your grandparents and your parents and your own story, trying to understand what they went through, it was like you were Trying to repair the hurt across generations, the way you do that, by explaining their lives and their hardships and what they came, you know, to parenting with as their background. Can you quickly describe what their teen years were like? Because it's this contrast to your teen years, obviously.

[Bill Burr]

Yeah, for sure. You know, my parents grew up in the midst of the Cultural Revolution in China, which, you know, between 1966 and 1976 was a very, you know, a very tumultuous time for a lot of the people living in China. It was very hard for a lot of reasons. But one of the things about the Cultural Revolution was that college studies all across the country were kind of shuttered. So instead of going to college, you would kind of go to work in the fields. That was a way to, like, teach Chinese youths about proletariat life. And so, yeah, my mom is a couple years older than my dad, which I know if she hears this, she will kill me. But she had graduated high school and was fully working in the fields, and my dad was kind of just on the verge of graduating when actually, Mao Zedong died. And his successor kind of reinstated the college pipeline and the entrance. The national entrance exam. And so because of that, you know, my mom was able to go to college. You know, she was studying for the standard test called the gaukow, but she was studying for that every day after working, you know, 12 hours in the field. And my dad was lucky enough kind of to go straight from high school to college to university, and that was where they met. And, you know, from there, you know, they fell in love, they got married, started to live in Beijing together, and became very enamored and very fixated on this idea of studying abroad. And then the rest is history.

[Simu Liu]

I want to ask you about Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. And Shang Chi is the first Asian character to be a lead in the Marvel universe. The film was released in 2021. Let's play a scene from the film. And as with a lot of Marvel films, it's kind of challenging to set up the story. But when we meet you at the beginning of the film, you play Sean, who lives in San Francisco and spends a lot of time with his friend Katie, played by Awkwafina. You're attacked by assassins on a bus, and it comes out that your character has a secret identity. Your father was an immortal warrior, and your mother was also a magical fighter. And when your character was still a child, your mom gets murdered, and your father wants you to avenge her death. Instead, your character flees to the US it's now a decade later, and the father is looking for you and trying to call you back. Now, in this scene, it's your character explaining the story to Awkwafina.

[Bill Burr]

I know this is a lot to dump on you.

[Terry Gross]

I'm sorry about you, Mom.

[Bill Burr]

I should also probably mention that my name's not technically shot. Sean. What?

[Simu Liu]

What is it?

[Bill Burr]

It's Shang Shan Chi. Shang Chi. Shan Chi.

[Tonya Moseley]

Shang Shan.

[Bill Burr]

Shang Shan. S H A N G. Shang Shang. Yeah.

[Tonya Moseley]

You change your name from Shang to Shan?

[Bill Burr]

Yeah. I don't.

[Simu Liu]

I wonder how your father found you.

[Bill Burr]

I was 15 years old.

[Simu Liu]

All right, what is your name? Change logic. You go into hiding, and your name is Michael. You want to change it to Michael.

[Bill Burr]

That's not what happened.

[Simu Liu]

It's like, hi, my name's Gina.

[Bill Burr]

I'm gonna go into hiding.

My new name's Gina.

[Simu Liu]

That's a scene from the film Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. The story goes that before you got this role, you tweeted at Marvel about how they needed to have an Asian superhero.

[Bill Burr]

Sure.

[Simu Liu]

You did this?

[Bill Burr]

I did, yeah. Yeah. I was very chronically online as a young adult. Yeah. And, you know, I would have these moments at 3am where I'd get intensely frustrated about my career. And, you know, I was starting to have all these kind of rudimentary thoughts about representation. But, of course, yeah, I was watching Marvel movies. I loved Marvel movies. And I was just like, when are we gonna have ours? You know, when are we gonna have an Asian version of Thor or Cap? When are we gonna have our superhero avenger guy that we could look up to, you know? Or Girl, by the way, I have to say, you did a fantastic job setting up the story of Shang Chi. I really. I was blown away by how succinctly you captured the story of the Wenwu and the Shang Chi of it all. And then the clip that you played, I really. It's so funny listening to it without the picture. It just reminded me just how talented of an improviser, Nora Awkwafina is a really, really good friend of mine today still, and just brought back a lot of amazing memories. So thank you for sharing that.

[Simu Liu]

Well, yeah, that's. Watching this film back. You know, it's so funny. You two are very funny together. And of course, it's this action movie, but there are also all these parallels between your character and your life. You know, there's the ide of parents wanting you to be something you're not. Of course, in the case of the movie. It's about being an assassin, but still. And then there are also these ideas, as we heard in the scene, like these ideas of trying to assimilate and trying to blend in. Was that one of the things that was attractive about this movie?

[Bill Burr]

I mean, yeah, look, I would have done this movie for free. I would have paid to do this movie. Let's just be clear. But no, I. I remember auditioning, over the course of auditioning for this movie, you know, and, you know, in my mind, I immediately go to, oh, are they gonna cast somebody from Asia? Are they gonna cast a national champion martial artist or something? You know, what is the story that they wanna tell here? Didn't necessarily feel like, you know, immediately apparent that it was gonna be the kind of story that it was. But then even, you know, Destin, Daniel Cretton being attached as director, I think, informed a lot of the direction that I think the studio wanted to go with it, which, you know, I'm not gonna say was an Asian American story because I do think that the movie is for everyone. But, you know, it's just really incredible that Destin was able to find a way in and to, you know, tell the story about a flawed, ultimately human character who, you know, is running. Running away from who he is and running away from his parents and. And eventually chooses to embrace it but on his terms.

[Simu Liu]

Simu Liu, thank you so much for speaking with me today.

[Bill Burr]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Tonya Moseley]

Simu Liu stars in the new film Last Breath. He spoke with Fresh Air's Anne Marie Baldonado. Fresh Air Weekend is produced by Teresa Madden. Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our managing producer is Sam Brigger. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Yakundi, and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly CV Nesper with Terry Gross. I'm Tonya Mosley.

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