Marvel actor on success, investing in Asian American startups [Video]

Marvel’s first Asian superhero star, Simu Liu, says he hit “rock bottom” before finding “enlightenment” as an actor — after his career as an accountant was a flop.

“I spent maybe the first 22 years of my life trying to live somebody else’s definition of success,” he told CNBC’s Samantha Vadas. “In the process of losing my job and kind of hitting a rock bottom, but then ultimately being liberated from that idea allowed me to define success on my own terms,” he said.

Liu was born in China and moved to Canada as a child. In 2011, he joined accounting firm Deloitte in Toronto, losing his job after eight months when he “skipped work” to take a role as an extra in the action movie “Pacific Rim,” according to his LinkedIn profile. …