Simu Liu Dishes on 'Barbie' Co-Star Ryan Gosling's 'Strict' Diet Regimen (Exclusive)

Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling
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When it comes to workouts, Simu Liu confirmed Ryan Gosling goes harder.

C'mon Ken, it's workout time. 

As the clock ticks down to the highly anticipated Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie, ET caught up with Simu Liu at the TIME 100 Gala on Wednesday in New York City. The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor is set to appear in the star-studded rom-com along with fellow famous names like Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera. Even better -- he and Gosling are both reportedly playing versions of Ken. While many details have still not yet been divulged, Liu did disclose how his gym game compares to his co-star's. As he revealed to ET's Lauren Zima, Gosling worked out harder. 

"Definitely Ryan -- 100 percent," Liu said. "He's definitely, like, a gym in the morning, gym after work kinda guy." 

"As much as I I believe that I do have a work ethic, I also love food a lot," Liu added. "Just hearing little bits and pieces about, you know, just his strict diet regimen and just like how much emphasis he puts on taking care of himself and his body, I’m like, I respect it, I respect it. I’m gonna have some soda."

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But that's pretty much all he'll say about the fun project. "I feel like the less I tell you, the better because I feel like every little piece of news that comes out to tease people -- everyone just gets progressively more confused and curious as to what this movie is and I kinda like that," Liu said. "I feel like July of next year when it comes, people are gonna be really, really surprised."

In the meantime, he's trying not to think too much about being selected as one of TIME's 100 most influential people in the world

"I guess what I’m really excited for is the fact that the message that I think I stand for is so much bigger than just anything I’ve done personally," he told Zima. "I think it's a message that'll live on for much longer than my career ever will and it's this idea that, you know, our community deserves to be represented and deserves to be seen and deserves to feel like they belong and, you know, I feel like I’m very, very honored to be a temporary conduit for that message, to be an instrument through which that message is being delivered."

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Having shot to superstardom over the last year, Liu also understands the benefit of hitting rock bottom.  

"Sometimes that rock bottom moment is a sign that you're not where you wanna be in life and it's a blessing given to you by the universe because it allows you the time and the space to truly discover what it is that you do want," he explained. "For me, it was like I was building up this house of cards, building a future that I didn’t want and not being very good at it either, and then when it finally all came toppling down, it finally was the time for me to build a strong foundation of what I did want."

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