Michelle Yeoh is wincing at the thought of collecting her honorary Golden Bear here in Berlin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I don\u2019t trip and fall flat on my face, because we went to the rehearsals and it\u2019s a long walk,\u201d says the actress, eyes widening as she mentally traces her steps toward the Palast stage. She\u2019s talking to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, bundled up in a white knitted sweater, dwarfed by the Ritz-Carlton\u2019s 10-foot ceilings. Her glitzy, celebratory ceremony \u2014\u00a0whether Yeoh likes it or not \u2014\u00a0is this evening. (It goes perfectly, with a heartfelt tribute from Anora director Sean Baker. In fact, there wasn\u2019t a dry eye in the house as Yeoh spoke to European cinema\u2019s top brass, tenderly discussing her late father and growing up as a young girl in Malaysia with dreams of stardom.)<\/p>\n
More from The Hollywood Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n Still, she is quick to downplay the feat. \u201cI think they\u2019ve made a mistake!\u201d Yeoh shrugs when asked why she thinks the fest named her its 2026 recipient. \u201cBecause a lifetime achievement is a big thing, and I feel like I\u2019ve not finished my journey. I still have a long way to go,\u201d she then adds, silently agreeing to acknowledge that she is the woman of the hour at this film festival (in her eyes, there\u2019s only three big ones anyway: Berlin, Cannes and Venice).<\/p>\n \u201cNow that I\u2019m here,\u201d she concedes, \u201cI feel like I should just say, \u2018Thank you.\u2019 Because it\u2019s the Berlinale, the people here, who have not just appreciated one movie that I\u2019ve done, but my whole portfolio of 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n The portfolio in question is vast and, appropriately, brimming with life. Yeoh made her start in the martial arts genre, becoming synonymous with the best of Hong Kong action by leading films like Yes, Madam (1985), Magnificent Warriors (1987), and Wing Chun (1994).<\/p>\n With 1997 came her first Hollywood role: Bond girl Wai Lin to Pierce Brosnan\u2019s incarnation in Roger Spottiswoode\u2019s Tomorrow Never Dies. International acclaim awaited, and with a final hoorah in Ang Lee\u2019s wuxia martial arts feature Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (a 10-time Academy Award-nominated film), the Tinseltown floodgates opened. Yeoh went on to star in Rob Marshall\u2019s Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor next to Brendan Fraser in 2008, and later, Jon M. Chu\u2019s box office behemoth Crazy Rich Asians (2018).<\/p>\n Marvel Cinematic Universe? Check. Animated smash-hit? Check. Beloved musical adaptation? Shiz, double-check. Yeoh\u2019s traversed a cinematic terrain few have dared to dream of, and the 63-year-old is simply sitting here with her fingers crossed that it\u2019s helped others. \u201cThe different things that I have done, I hope, in a small way, shaped cinema,\u201d she says, \u201cand made a difference for actors who look like me, for women in particular, to be able to cross different cultures and languages.\u201d<\/p>\n Wielding her success to get fellow Asian actors a seat at the table is what she believes to be the greatest knock-on effect of her Oscar-winning performance in Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert\u2019s absurdist multiple-reality bonanza Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). \u201cI think [winning] does open more doors in the sense that people see you and they\u2019re willing to change what they are doing to make space for you,\u201d muses Yeoh. \u201cI think that is very important. I now receive scripts that are written for men and they turn the character around so [it\u2019s a woman]. They don\u2019t just see me as an Asian, they see me as an actor who can be in any of these roles.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s also changed things for actors who look like Yeoh. She stops to praise those who\u2019ve come after her: \u201cWe have so many amazing young actresses, Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, Lucy Liu.\u201d She then adds a caveat \u2014\u00a0that they could always use more movies and more opportunities.<\/p>\n But in a world where those with power are seemingly relentless in their bid to marginalise non-white communities further, Yeoh maintains that it\u2019s not a filmmaker\u2019s job to address global politics. \u201cWhen we write books for children, are we supposed to instil in them our politics and how [they] should lead [their] life?\u201d she asks. What we can do, she thinks, is \u201cshine a spotlight on certain issues in certain ways, and let you think on how you perceive the world.\u201d Take Star Trek, says Yeoh: \u201cI mean, it\u2019s set in the future, but it talks about a lot of problems that we are going through! Are they trying to change the world?\u201d She concludes: \u201cI don\u2019t think much [film] has changed the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Though, those alternate universes in Everything Everywhere might just work as a vehicle for showing audiences a myriad of worldly possibilities, says Yeoh. She continues: \u201cI think the most important thing, wherever you are, whichever country you belong to, is you have to understand and vote. If you don\u2019t vote, then don\u2019t complain, because somebody else has voted for you! I think that\u2019s the responsibility of everyone \u2014\u00a0not films. About half of films are there to entertain because it\u2019s an art form where we bring people together to laugh and cry and be with each other and just be a normal human being for once in a while. If you want real and hardcore, turn on the TV [to the] news and [see] all the horrible things that are happening in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to think of a more entertaining cinematic experience in the last few years than Wicked, Jon M. Chu\u2019s two-hander that made billions of dollars worldwide and nabbed 10 Oscar nominations in the process. Though Yeoh \u2014\u00a0who plays the evil, weather-warping Madame Morrible \u2014\u00a0immediately notes her disappointment that all of those Academy Award nods went to Wicked (2024), and not Wicked: For Good (2025).<\/p>\n \u201cI never will,\u201d she says about waving farewell to the experience that had audiences just as engrossed in its endlessly entertaining press tour as they were in the beloved musical sequences. \u201cWicked will always be family. I\u2019m in touch with Ariana [Grande] and Cynthia [Erivo] and Jon\u2026 And I will say I was so desperately disappointed when they were not acknowledged at the Oscars. There\u2019s only so many places and of course, they say, \u2018Well, you already got so many in Wicked\u2026\u2019 but the disappointment for them is very strong.\u201d Yeoh appears particularly saddened by the movie\u2019s shut-out in the craft categories: \u201cI mean, Paul Tazewell for the costume design? Hair and makeup [by] Frances [Hannon]? And Alice Brooks, our DP, she was never recognized.\u201d She frowns, and her eyes fall to the floor.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t forget: Yeoh\u2019s an Academy member now, and she takes that responsibility seriously. In fact, she declines to tell THR about her favorite movies of the year, lest she show any public bias. \u201cThere\u2019s been so many outstanding [films], and every movie stands out on its own in different genres as well,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s going to be a tough, close race. Right now, I\u2019m actually revisiting all the contenders.\u201d<\/p>\n That leaves us with our final question. What else is Yeoh up to right now? Her answer might surprise you \u2014\u00a0she\u2019s eyeing a return to Chinese cinema. \u201cSince 2018, I have not been back to China to work, because it\u2019s been non-stop here,\u201d she says, alluding to her work in Europe and Hollywood. \u201cI\u2019m still working on a movie [in China]. Last year, I did one called Miss Rubik,\u201d about a woman in a nursing home who unexpectedly pries open the future through a Rubik\u2019s Cube. \u201cBut this one that I\u2019m working on, The Wandering Earth 3 [from Frant Gwo], I am very impressed by the energy and the dynamic visions of these young directors. It gives me great pleasure, joy, to see that development.\u201d<\/p>\n In keeping with the tone of our conversation, she\u2019s adamant that when a role feels like she \u201ccan\u2019t bring anything new to it, then somebody should have a chance of doing that instead of me.\u201d We\u2019re back to that hypothetical table again \u2014\u00a0the one Yeoh is a permanent fixture at, that remains in dire need of some diversity \u2014\u00a0and the legendary actress is, once again, the picture of humility: \u201cEvery time I look at a character, I try to understand why a director would want me to play that role. What do they think I will bring to the table? That\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n Best of The Hollywood Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for THR’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Michelle Yeoh is wincing at the thought of collecting her honorary Golden Bear here in Berlin. \u201cI hope I don\u2019t trip and fall flat on my face, because we went to the rehearsals and it\u2019s a long walk,\u201d says the actress, eyes widening as she mentally traces her steps toward the Palast stage. She\u2019s talking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2282344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[374038,379226,34395,350033],"class_list":["post-2282343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists","tag-daniel-kwan","tag-european-cinema","tag-hollywood-reporter","tag-michelle-yeoh"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michelle-Yeoh-Is-Just-Hoping-Shes-Made-a-Difference-for.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282343"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2282345,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282343\/revisions\/2282345"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/span><\/div>\n
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