Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh
Tan Sri Dato' Seri Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Chinese-Malaysian actress, best known for performing her own stunts in the Hong Kong action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s. Born in Ipoh, Malaysia, she was chosen by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 1997...
NationalityMalaysian
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth6 August 1963
CityIpoh, Malaysia
CountryMalaysia
eye forgive ken learn learning lives lucky please seven six spend sure torture weeks
We had to learn in just six weeks what geishas spend their whole lives learning. There were seven torture rooms, ... But we were lucky that Kaori and Ken were there to keep an eye on us to make sure we were doing it properly. Please forgive us if we did anything wrong.
watch
When I watch myself on-screen, I always look for the flaws.
easy mental physical rather run torture tough
It's tough on a different level. This is not a physical movie, in that sense, but I think the mental torture of this movie was much harder. I'd rather run on rooftops; that's easy to do.
good hours maybe tickled
Doing a movie like 'Memoirs' was good in the sense that it tickled me into thinking, 'Well, maybe I have to be a little more feminine.' But after two hours of that, I said, 'Fine, OK, I did that,'
marriage married stay talked together
We've talked about it. I've been married before. We'll stay together as long as we're happy. We don't necessarily have to get married. Marriage is a bonus. Being together is enough. I also like to be independent.
hard honor respect tradition tried
We tried really hard to get things right, to honor and respect the tradition of the geisha.
amazing people team work
They have an amazing team ... I've wanted to work with these people for a long while.
understand
All of us understand we are here and our movie has done exceedingly well.
beginning elements industry learn
There are so many elements in the movie industry that I am just beginning to learn about. As an actor you are well-protected.
audience chinese culture defended figures good honor image loyalty men strong western women
If you read a lot of Chinese literature, there has always been very strong women figures - warriors, swordswomen - who defended honor and loyalty with the men. So, it's not new to our culture - it's always been very much a part of it. It's good that now the Western audience would have a different image of the Chinese women.
heart careers asian
My career in the movie business began in Hong Kong, my heart has always been tied to Asia, and it is immensely gratifying to see international recognition for Asian cinema as a whole.
play roles ifs
If I only get to play Malaysian roles, there wouldn't be very many roles for me to play.
blessed artist challenges
As an actor, you hope to find roles that are challenging to you as an artist. Then if you are truly blessed, you will find that it also carries a message that you can impart to your audience.
discipline roles demand
I have been presented with roles with demand not just a physical ability but mental disciplines as well. 'Memoirs of a Geisha' was not so much about physical exertion...it was much more graceful and contained than that.