Michelle Yeoh – The Film That Lit My Fuse Oscar Edition

The Film That Lit My Fuse is a Deadline video series that aims to provide an antidote to headlines about industry uncertainty by swinging the conversation back to the creative ambitions, formative influences and inspirations of some of today’s great screen artists.

Every installment asks the same five questions. Today’s subject is Michelle Yeoh, the Malaysian-born dancer who has become one of the most versatile actresses working today. This is actually a reprise of a segment we did in anticipation of Everything, Everywhere, All At Once’s launch at SXSW last March. The film has delivered on every level, and Yeoh is a front runner for the Best Actress Award, one of 11 Oscars the film is in contention for this weekend. It seemed worth a second look.

Though she never trained in martial arts, Yeoh began in Hong Kong action films, culminating in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, and the celebrated Ang Lee film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which won the Best Foreign Language film Oscar. Most recently, her action turns included Gunpowder Milkshake and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. She starred in the blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians, and is starring in a quartet of Avatar sequels from James Cameron. Here, Yeoh explains the films that sparked her rise.