Canadian Chinese actor Simu Liu guest hosted Jimmy Kimmel for the first time on Wednesday night and interviewed Hong Kong-born comedian Jimmy O. Yang, who declared “an Asian takeover” while backstage.
Liu first interviewed Hong Kong-born American actor Yang, who brought dim sum for Liu to eat and shared a story about the time when his father embarrassed him at a movie premiere. He also talked about his role in the Netflix original series “Space Force” and recalled his experiences working with Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg on their newest film “Me Time.”
In exclusive footage shared with NextShark, Yang declares backstage: “We’re gonna take it over tonight. An Asian takeover on Kimmel.”
Yang also apparently had a hilarious idea for his appearance that, unfortunately, did not pass with Liu.
“He and I started brainstorming some fun ideas. I think I pitched him this wild idea where we arm wrestle and I break his (prosthetic) arm, and we play it as if it was real. He didn’t go for it, rightfully so. I’m glad we ended up with the dim sum idea instead,” Yang tells NextShark.
Yang also praised Liu’s skills as a guest host.
“When they told me Simu was going to be the guest host, it was a no-brainer. I knew this could be a really special thing for the community, to have an Asian host and guest,” Yang says. “I thought Simu did great! His bit with Guillermo was hilarious. And we just really riffed off of each other. It was really fun, and I think it showed.”
In his monologue, Liu started off by stating that he is the first Jimmy Kimmel host to have “never met Jimmy Kimmel.”
“This is actually my third time on the show and, uh, never met the guy! Last time I was a guest, Chelsea Handler was the host, and before that, Sean Hayes was filling in, and now I’m hosting,” Liu said.
He then moved on to the water scandal that is currently rocking Hollywood by mocking the Kardashians and Hart for using too much water during the drought in southern California. He jokingly told the audience to “have a little compassion for these poor celebrities” and asked, “Do you know how much water it takes to wash a private jet? It’s a lot.”
Several celebrities were recently warned about excessive water usage amid the severe drought emergency rampant in southern California. Some of these public figures included Hart, former NBA player Dwyane Wade and actors Gabrielle Union and Sylvester Stallone.
Liu went on to take a jab at former President Donald Trump for allegedly using his political action committee’s $650,000 donation to the Smithsonian Institute to fund his and Melania Trump’s portraits.
“For $650,000, Joe Biden could forgive 32 student loans, and Donald Trump could buy the silence of three porn stars,” Liu joked. “Donald Trump does not need another portrait. His supporters actually paint insane portraits of him all the time, for free!
Liu then showed several portraits made by Trump’s supporters. In one of the paintings, Trump rides a dinosaur while holding an American flag and two weapons.
“This is the new cover of every history textbook in Florida,” Liu cracked.
The Marvel star finished his monologue by teaching Kimmel’s sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez some superhero moves while questioning how he secured a job as a night security guard with little martial arts training.
In addition, Liu conducted an interview with fellow actor Mandy Moore, who talked about her TV series “This Is Us,” her second pregnancy and the 20th anniversary of her 2002 film “A Walk to Remember.”
Featured Image via Jimmy Kimmel Live
