- I do enjoy the physical side of it.
Hand to hand combat, certain parts of the wire work,
because you get to do things
that you normally wouldn't be able to do.
I'm Michelle Yeoh, and these are the stories of my life.
(upbeat music)
Growing up, I was a little ballerina at the age of four.
In school, I was a sports person.
I played squash.
I played table tennis.
I was an all-rounder.
Jack of all trades, master of none.
I used to go to the cinemas all the time
because my mom is a huge movie buff.
And the character that I remember most clearly
from my childhood days was Christopher Lee in "Dracula."
Those red eyes. Oh my God.
I was traumatized.
What was my mom thinking, hey? (chuckles)
My first on-camera work was a TV commercial
back in Malaysia,
and my first acting role in 1984, "The Owl vs Bombo".
It was directed by Sammo Hung,
one of the most incredible, athletic,
agile director, martial artist.
It was an action film,
but at that time we all played the damsel in distress.
And that was my first experience
in watching how action movies were being made.
And I remember thinking it's choreography, you know?
It's like my dance choreography.
By the time I did my second movie in Hong Kong,
dance played a integral part in my acting career.
Because of the years of training as a ballerina,
as a dancer, I was able to learn movements
in a very short period of time.
The one role that I will be most remembered for,
I hope it is in the future.
That I haven't done it yet.
I guess I will always be a Bond girl.
How cool is that?
I always say it's really, really cool.
(flame roaring) (yelps)
I had so much fun, and Pierce,
he was so kind and looked after me very well.
So I always appreciate that.
I did enjoy playing Eleanor Young.
Everybody gets to go to the beach and shoot fireworks,
and I get to walk up the stairs.
You will never be enough.
(laughs) I really had fun.
And she had the most fabulous costumes and jewelry, so.
The director for me is the soul of the story.
Without his guidance, without his vision,
I mean, we only have words on paper.
I met with Ang Lee during
the press junket of "Tomorrow Never Dies",
and I will never forget this,
this amazing director.
He sits opposite me, and anybody who knows Ang
knows that he's a very soft-spoken,
very adorable, smart, wise man.
And he says, "Oh, you know, now you're such a big star.
I don't know whether you will still talk to me."
I fell off my chair.
So he started to tell me the story
of "Sense and Sensibility" with martial arts.
And the way he described it was like,
he was doing this water color
of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
And I said yes,
even without reading the script, without anything.
And I just waited for him
until we were ready to shoot in 2000.
"Memoirs of a Geisha" was a great challenge
because I was portraying a very well known geisha,
Japanese and I am in awe of their culture.
So I immersed myself tremendously into all the nuances
of what it was to be Japanese, to start off with.
Because if we all sat in the same,
we all Asians sat in the same room,
you probably couldn't tell where we are actually from,
but it's always the little mannerism. (humming)
Then you start to notice.
But because I was given such a privilege to play her,
I really went all the way to make sure.
And the biggest compliment I ever got
was when we premiered in Tokyo and they said,
"You were like a Japanese lady."
(exhales) Over the moon.
Doing drama versus doing action.
I always say, why do I have to choose?
In all of my action films,
the drama is always very key.
For that moment when you are filming,
you are actually some kind of superhero.
And after, when it's all done,
the sense of gratification is pretty awesome.
(grunting)
Whenever I did a dramatic film like "Sunshine"
or "The Lady", my fans would get very nervous and go,
"Does that mean you're not doing another action film?"
I'm like, no, that doesn't mean that.
Then I'll go straight into doing
a crazy action film, but they go hand in hand.
What's the difference working on film and on television?
I think it's the intensity,
because in TV you have a very shorter window
of time to deliver an episode.
The detail for cinema is more intense
(whistles)
because it's magnified right on the big silver screen.
On TV it's quicker, it's faster.
And it's more agile in that sense.
That's why doing "Gunpowder Milkshake"
was nostalgic because I felt the intensity
of the old Hong Kong way of filming action.
(grunting)
They picked up the camera,
and they literally ran with the actors.
So I was going, "Wow!
This is really cool
because I haven't done this for a while."
It became almost, I hate to say, too safe.
So suddenly you felt the legs whizzing past you and you go,
"Yeah, this is more like it!"
(sighs) I know.
Old habits are hard to break. (laughs)
(light music)
Always learn.
And humility, don't ever think you know.
I never think I am doing it right,
because I am still trying to find ways and trying to learn.
It never hurts to keep working hard
and do your very best at all times.
I always believe the harder you work,
the luckier you become.
and then when you do get the opportunity, you're ready.
- You got something in your hair.
- So check out "Gunpowder Milkshake" on Netflix.
(light music)