On Feb. 27, the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards were presented to Chinese-American actress Michelle Yeoh for her role as Evelyn Wang in the film ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.
After Ballon d’Or, this is another important award for Michelle Yeoh. The award has been described by industry insiders as the last major windfall award before the Oscars.
Michelle Yeoh got choked up a few times during her acceptance speech, “Everyone knows the journey is full of bumps, ups and downs, but ultimately what it takes is to never give up.” She said, “We wanted to earn a spot because we love our acting work so much, we want to be seen, we want to be heard, and tonight proved that it’s possible!”
Her short speech was also met with thunderous applause from the stage.
For Asian actors in Hollywood, Michelle Yeoh and ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ have opened up more possibilities in the industry; for Michelle Yeoh, it is a great recognition of her 40 years of experience in film.
Michelle Yeoh holds the 80th American Film and Television Ballon d’Or Award on January 10, 2023 in California, USA.
Michelle Yeoh’s journey from a world-famous Chinese-American actress to an industry-recognized actor has been one of hardship and patience.
For 40 years in the industry, Michelle Yeoh has worked with Jackie Chan, Ang Lee and other famous filmmakers. Many of the filmmakers who have worked together, when talking about Michelle Yeoh, the first reaction is that the force is not afraid to die, not afraid to get hurt.
In 1985, Michelle Yeoh starred in the film ‘Yes, Madam!’, in which she performed dangerous actions such as going through glass. For this film, she was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards that year.
Since this film, Michelle Yeoh has been performing almost all of the martial arts actions herself. Her popularity as well as her salary also increased with the accumulation of wounds on her body.
After gaining fame through martial arts films, Michelle Yeoh suddenly announced her marriage and retired from the film industry in 1988.
At the age of 30, Michelle Yeoh made her comeback. Her first film was ‘Police Story 3: Super Cop’ with Jackie Chan, in which she did all the dangerous stunts herself. During the filming of ‘Ah Kam’, she was almost paralyzed when she fell off a flyover and broke her back.
In 1997, Michelle Yeoh appeared in the Bond film series ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’, the first time in history that a Chinese-American actress was cast as a Bond girl.
Michelle Yeoh recalls that this production was the first time she realized that “she was not a martial arts star, but a real actress”.
Since then, Michelle Yeoh has been acting in various action films such as ‘Silver Hawk’ and ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’, etc. She has also tried out many other types of roles and has grown from a mere fighter to an actress.
According to the two directors of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, after watching ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ that year, they were blown away by Michelle Yeoh’s performance. For the first time, I realized that the martial arts superstar from my childhood memories was such a good actress.
Through Evelyn Wang, Michelle Yeoh completely unleashes her acting skills, switching and bridging between different states in a story full of contradictions, making the audience believe in each of the characters in the “universe”.
Although the film’s investment is only $25 million and may not be dazzling at the box office, it contributes to a very different viewing experience thanks to Michelle Yeoh’s performance and the director’s control.
‘The New York Times’ said of her performance in the film, “Michelle Yeoh gives an entity to a specific kind of character, the kind of aging, complex Asian woman.”
Congratulations to Michelle Yeoh!
Related Post: Michelle Yeoh becomes first Asian to win leading role at SAG Awards.
Related Post: 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards Winners List.
