Simu Liu Was Bitten By A Dog The Night Before His Infamous Stock Photo Model Shoot

Simu Liu reveals that a dog injured him the night before his infamous stock model photo shoot. Liu is best known for his titular role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. He reprised the part in the animated Disney+ shows What If…? and Marvel Zombies, and is returning for Avengers: Doomsday as well.

Years before debuting as Shang-Chi in the MCU, Liu was a stock photo model. The images featuring him went viral around the time the superhero movie was released in 2021, and Liu has even shared some of them from his own social media accounts.

During an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan for his new Netflix movie In Your Dreams, Liu was asked about which stock photo he would create for the film. He struck a pose of the photo where he smiles and waves while dancing.

Liu went on to explain that a dog bit him in the face the night before the photo shoot where this image was taken. He and his girlfriend were visiting a friend who was dog sitting, and when one of the dogs got jealous of the other, Liu was caught in the middle. The bite caused his face to be punctured, and he lost “a lot of blood.”

Nevertheless, he proceeded with the photo shoot. Since the stock photos were all taken on the same day, Liu notes in the dancing photo and in all the others that one side of his face is scarred, and jokingly says his stock imagery contains “lore.” Check out his comments below:

You want to know something? The night before that stock photo shoot, I got bit by a dog in the face. I was with my girlfriend at the time, and we were visiting a friend who was dog sitting. There were these two dogs that I didn’t know hated each other. I think I was petting both of them, but I was petting them both on opposite sides of me. I think one of the dogs got jealous of the other and lunged for that dog, but then caught my face in the middle of it. So my entire face got – not ripped open – but there were definitely a couple of punctures and a lot of blood. And I remember being so worried because I had the stock photo shoot the next day. So if you look really closely at a lot of those stock photos – because they’re all done on the same day – you can tell that I have this scarring on the side of my face. There’s lore behind the stock photos.

The stock photos will undoubtedly continue to be a source of fun that Liu and his fans participate in via social media, but his revelation adds new context to the images of him dancing and smiling.

In the years since the stock photo shoot and being bitten by a dog, the actor has come a long way, and there are now many Simu Liu movies and shows. Beyond his role as Shang-Chi, he played one of the Kens in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, Jung Kim in the popular sitcom Kim’s Convenience, and is the voice of Multi-Paul in Prime Video’s Invincible season 3.

In terms of his MCU future, Shang-Chi 2 is happening but is still in development. Filming on Avengers: Doomsday has wrapped, and the film is scheduled for a December 18, 2026 release, which will mark Liu’s first time playing Shang-Chi in live action since 2021.

Before Doomsday, Simu Liu fans can hear him voicing Dad in Netflix’s animated adventure comedy In Your Dreams. The story revolves around two children venturing into a world of dreams in an attempt to save the marriage between their Dad (Liu) and Mom (Cristin Milioti).

In Your Dreams will be available to stream on Netflix on November 14.