'We are supposed to step into roles that are given to us'

Oscar-winning actor Michelle Yeoh thinks the ‘best thing’ about her awards success is that she is no longer only receiving scripts for ‘Asian-looking’ characters.

The 60-year-old star won the ‘best actress’ category at a string of ceremonies this year, including the Oscars, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Golden Globes for her role as Evelyn Quan Wang in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ and she is pleased to be offering a wider variety of roles, reported ‘aceshowbiz.com’.

The actor said, “The best thing that has happened is I receive a script that doesn’t describe the character as a Chinese or Asian-looking person. We are actors. We are supposed to act.”

“We are supposed to step into roles that are given to us and do our job as best we can. That, for me, is the biggest step forward,” she said during the ‘Kering Women in Motion’ talks at the Cannes Film Festival.

Yeoh reflected on her first time at Cannes over 20 years ago with ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and said she felt that it was ‘quite obvious’ Hollywood wasn’t ready to celebrate Asian actors back then.

“There were so many great Asian and Chinese movies that came out at that time. But if you look at all the films that get nominated here in Cannes and get awards, very rarely, especially at the Oscars, they will nominate the best director, best film and everything,” she added.

Yeoh further stated, “You wonder, ‘How do you get there without the actors?’ So, it seems a little odd.”