New Marvel actor Meng’er Zhang talks about punching Simu Liu’s face

In an exclusive interview, Meng’er Zhang, the Chinese actor who plays Shang-Chi’s sister Xialiang, shared that she didn’t know she was auditioning for

Landing the role: Zhang told NextShark she wasn’t aware she was auditioning for a Marvel movie. She sent her self-tapes after seeing the audition call in a group chat.

The audition call mentioned needing a girl who could speak Chinese and English. Zhang realized what she was auditioning for after receiving a callback and realizing she would be doing a screen test with Liu.
“I just want to play interesting characters and tell good stories and this film is really a good story,” she shared. “[Shang-Chi] is a really great story about family and about love.”
She also revealed that she cries every time she watches the film.

Moments on set: The Marvel newcomer recalled one moment in which she got too into character and punched Liu in the face.

“The first fight scene I did with Simu, I did punch him in the face,” she shared. “It’s not going to be a fond memory for him, but it felt good. I didn’t mean to do it, I just got into my character. I just went for it.”
She states that Liu was “super nice” about it and told her it didn’t hurt.
Liu also gifted her an action figure of Xialiang, which she takes with her everywhere. Her husband brings the action figure around with him to show it off.
Zhang’s parents also bought all her action figures and have filled their house with them.

Featured Image via NextShark and Marvel Entertainment

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