Michelle Yeoh says she didn’t work for nearly two years due to “stereotypical roles”
Michelle Yeoh didn’t work as an actor for nearly two years in the 1990s due to the “stereotypical” roles she was offered.
The actor, who had her first Hollywood role in 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, said she rejected roles subsequently thrown her way for “almost two years” until 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
“At that point, people in the industry couldn’t really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese or Japanese or Korean or if I even spoke English,” Yeoh told People. “They would talk very loudly and very slow.”
She added: “I didn’t work for almost two years, until Crouching Tiger, simply because I could not agree with the stereotypical roles that were put forward to me.”
Yeoh is nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Oscars for Everything Everywhere All At Once, against Cate Blanchett, Ana de Armas, Andrea Riseborough and Michelle Williams.
Last month, Yeoh became the first Asian actor to win Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) awards.
“Every one of you know, the journey, the rollercoaster ride, the ups and downs,” Yeoh said in her acceptance speech. “But most important, we never give up.
“This is not just for me, this is for every little girl that looks like me. Thank you for giving me a seat at the table because so many of us need this. We want to be seen, we want to be heard.”
The Oscars 2023 take place on Sunday March 12.
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Adam Starkey
NME
