Michelle Yeoh is going through a purple patch in her career. The Malaysian actor who recently won an Oscar for her brilliant performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once made her name as a martial arts star in Hong Kong before stepping into Hollywood. The celebrity carved a niche for herself with Crouching Tiger, and Hidden Dragon before entering the commercial blockbuster space in films like Tomorrow Never Dies, Crazy Rich Asians, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. With her big Oscar win, Yeoh has proved that she has the acting chops to match her martial arts expertise.
Michelle Yeoh’s inspirational journey has also made her a role model for women to follow their dreams despite many societal obstacles that are imposed on them. The Memoirs of a Geisha star has also been a vocal advocate of feminism and the power of women and has never backed down from expressing her views regardless of who she interacted with. Action star Jackie Chan was one of Yeoh’s co-stars who was at the receiving end of the celebrity’s wrath.
Michelle Yeoh Roasts Jackie Chan in Epic Fashion
In 1997, Michelle Yeoh appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote her James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. When Letterman asked her if her foray into action was inspired by her first co-star and friend, Jackie Chan, Yeoh gave a brutally honest reply saying,
“ No, actually he is a male chauvinistic pig. He always believes that women should stay at home and cook and not do anything and be the victim”
The actor added that Jackie Chan did not consider her to be one of these typecast women because she could take him on verbally and physically. Yeoh’s comment during the show was hailed by viewers as bold and fitting, especially when it comes to women’s liberation. The actor has been vocal about the kind of stereotypical roles that have been written for women over the years and has firmly advocated the need to bring about a change when creating female characters for the screen.
Michelle Yeoh and Jackie Chan Share an Interesting History.
Despite Michelle Yeoh slamming Jackie Chan publically for his chauvinistic comments on women, the two Asian stars share a great friendship and an interesting professional history. Yeoh first entered the scene in 1985 when she was cast opposite Jackie Chan for a television advertisement in Hong Kong. This was the beginning of a successful collaboration between the two actors. Their first film together saw Yeoh playing a Judo instructor in Chan’s action-comedy Twinkle, Twinkle, and Lucky Stars in 1985. The pair then went on to work on various projects including the animated film series Kung -Fu Panda.
But the stars’ most memorable work together is undoubtedly the 1992 classic action-comedy Police Story 3: Supercop which features Yeoh as Inspector Jessica Yang and Chan as the bumbling but lovable Detective Chan Ka-kui. The film, directed by Stanley Tong, was a massive commercial success, making over 34 million dollars at the box office globally. The film also received rave reviews from critics for its thrilling action sequences and the chemistry between the two leads.
Source: YouTube