Nominated for the Oscar for best actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, actress Michelle Yeoh recently spoke about her start to her career in Hollywood, and in particular a complicated period following the filming of James Bond.
This Sunday, March 12, at the 95th Academy Awards, Michelle Yeoh may well receive the Best Actress award for her recent performance in the science fiction film Everything Everywhere All at Once.
As she prepares to walk the red carpet at the Dolby Theater, she recently recalled her many memories as an actress, recounting her rich career at the microphone of People magazine.
The actress notably evoked her first steps in Hollywood, a period which she describes as complicated and where she often found herself confronted with prejudices.
Already famous in Asian cinema and confirmed actress, Michelle Yeoh had thus discovered the Hollywood industry in 1997, at the age of 35, lending her features to a James Bond girl who, for the first time, stood up to the famous agent secret, in Tomorrow never dies. But as she explains, the years that followed this shoot were not easy for the actress:
“At that time, people in the industry couldn’t really tell the difference, couldn’t tell if I was Chinese, Japanese or Korean, or even if I spoke English”she said.
Sony Pictures
“They spoke to me very loudly and very slowly. I didn’t work for almost two years, until Tiger and Dragon, simply because I couldn’t accept the stereotypical roles that were offered to me.”
After this more laborious period, Michelle Yeoh gradually acceded to roles in other important productions. We have notably been able to see her in the casting of The Mummy 3, The Lady (in the role of Aung San Suu Kyi) or even Marvel Shang-Chi. More recently, she played the heroine of the film Everything Everywhere All at Once, nominated for an Oscar in 11 categories.
(Re)discover the trailer for “Tomorrow never dies”…