Michelle Yeoh didn’t work for two years to avoid “stereotypical roles”
After beginning her career as an action star, appearing in films such as Yes, Madam, Holy Weapon and Police Story 3: Supercop alongside Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh broke into Hollywood in 1997 with a role in Tomorrow Never Dies from the James Bond franchise. In 2000, her appearance in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the first foreign-language film to surpass $100million at the box office in the United States, gained the actor further recognition.
However, the actor has revealed that she found it difficult to land roles in the 1990s that were not “stereotypical”. Detailing the situation, she told People: “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. They would talk very loudly and very slow.”
Yeoh continued: “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”. The actor also explained that her latest role, Madame Morrible in Wicked, represents a progression towards inclusivity in the industry. “In the past, this role would’ve been for a Caucasian lady. This is what we call diversity, inclusivity. This is how you make it work. It is a natural process — progress, evolution that we can have as storytellers.”
In 2022, Yeoh appeared in Everything Everywhere All At Once, the multiverse comedy-drama that took the box office by storm. For her performance, she has been nominated for ‘Best Actress’ at the Academy Awards and won a Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe. “A lot of actresses find, as the numbers get bigger, the roles start to dwindle,” Yeoh added. “Over the last few years, I’m very proud that we have been breaking away from stereotypes — it’s not just lip service. It is happening. And it’s happening to me.”
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