In a parallel universe, martial arts queen Michelle Yeoh could have played the famous bride of Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” but the latter did not choose her. The actress reveals why…
We remind you Kill Bill is the story of a former assassin (Uma Thurman) who wakes up from a long coma after being abandoned by her fiancé and after an attempt was made to assassinate her the day of his marriage. The young woman then embarks on the path of revenge…
Quentin Tarantino is a super-fan of Michelle Yeoh, so much so that he cited her performance in the action comedy Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) with Jackie Chan as a major influence behind his cult film The Bride. So why didn’t he choose her to play the key role?
That’s a question that Michelle Yeoh asked herself when she saw Kill Bill… and that she also asked the renowned director! The actress spoke on the subject in a recent interview with Town & Country as reported by Entertainment Weekly and Variety.
I asked the same question to Quentin. He is very intelligent. He said, ‘Who would believe that Uma Thurman could kick your ass?’
Quentin Tarantino and Michelle Yeoh are longtime friends. The actress shared that it was the director who inspired her to continue acting when she was considering quitting her career after an injury she suffered while filming her movie Stunt Woman (A Jin de gu shi) in 1996.
“I thought I had broken my back. I thought I was paralyzed” Michelle Yeoh recalled, revealing that she was in the hospital when she was visited by Tarantino who was in Hong Kong to screen Pulp Fiction.
“I have to say, Quentin, he’s persistent. He is what he is today because he is full of passion and love, so he wore me out.“During their conversation (she then only gave him five minutes), “suddenly we are quickened. So I thought, ‘Maybe I’m not ready to let this go.’”
She would later sign on to star in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies – her first lead role in English.
“I was just a big, big fan of her,” Tarantino told Town & Country. “There was still a twinkle in his eyes.”
Quentin Tarantino is still planning to retire after his 10th film, which means he only has one more to do… Hopefully Michelle Yeoh will be there before he stops filming.
The actress is currently gearing up for Oscar season: it looks like she’s on track for a Best Actress Oscar nomination thanks to her highly acclaimed performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, which will be released on August 31 with us.
The multiverse action-comedy has notably been a hit in the United States and has grossed over $100 million worldwide, a rare feat for an indie film released post-pandemic. The feature film has also become the highest turnover ever recorded for the independent production company A24.
Check out the movie trailer below: