Michelle Yeoh - On typecasting, fertility and THAT Oscars speech
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Dream of ballet and parental support
Michelle recounts her ballet ambitions, spinal injury, and her father's encouragement to pursue education and life choices freely.
Michelle Yeoh has created a legendary body of work that defies easy categorisation. You’ll know her from cult classic Kung Fu Cinema, Everything Everywhere, All At Once - the film that made her the first Asian woman to be given the Academy Award for Best Actress at the time. She was cast as a Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies, then starred in the global box office hit Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the brilliantly chilling future mother-in-law in Crazy Rich Asians. This month sees her returning to the role in Wicked, as Madame Morrible.
In person she is warm and engaging, with a fascinating story to tell. We talk about why mistakes help us grow, why she felt like a ‘failure’ for not having children (something we have in common), stage fright - and how she almost quit after a life-threatening stunt injury. Plus: racism, typecasting and why her mother is the REAL diva.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
01:16 The Journey to Hollywood
02:36 The Role of Family
03:52 On Playing Iconic Roles
08:10 Facing Personal Challenges
24:20 Think Wider: Breaking Family Expectations
25:38 Pursuing Dreams: From Ballet to Acting
27:16 The Hong Kong Film Industry: Early Challenges
27:33 Breaking Stereotypes: Women in Action Films
34:25 Hollywood's Limitations: Typecasting and Minority Roles
37:30 Facing Racism: The Ongoing Struggle
39:22 Stunt Accident: A Turning Point
47:57 Resilience and Reflection: Lessons Learned
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
When you're down, you learn. You become resilient, you become stronger and you learn from mistakes. Don't wallow in them.
I truly believe ups and downs are like a heartbeat. You can't just [go] one way. Right? That would be a flatline.
I believe in always moving forwards, because if you stay still you're just stagnant and you're just waiting for the inevitable.
An act of kindness or compassion goes a long, long way in our world and we are in so desperate need of that.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
Wicked: For Good is in cinemas from 21st November
Join the How To Fail community: https://howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: https://theelizabethday.substack.com/
📚 WANT MORE?
Sharon Horgan - on quitting art college and drama school, the impact of divorce and being in her 50s https://link.chtbl.com/hR7kycoN
Andrew Scott - on childhood failure, not finishing university and heteronormativity https://link.chtbl.com/18dVhMb_
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Instagram: @elizabday
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Suhaar Ali
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Carly Maile
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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