To many, Michelle Yeoh is simply royalty. From kicking butt in Hong Kong action films like Supercop, to making her mark in western pop culture in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and culminating in her Academy Award winning performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, Yeoh has seemingly done it all. Along the way, her incredible talent, poise and grace have won her countless fans, who simply refer to her as “Queen Michelle.”
Truly, Yeoh is as close to royalty as it gets for most Asian and Asian American fans. Part of the reason that she’s so revered is that we’ve also seen her endure numerous hurdles in her career, including fighting stereotypes, racism and misogyny. Despite proving herself over and over again, giving memorable performances at every turn, Hollywood continued to try to push her down. But Yeoh persevered and Hollywood slowly caught up, and now it finally seems like she is getting the respect and opportunities that she deserves.
One of those unique new opportunities is as Madame Morrible in the feature film adaptation of the iconic musical Wicked, which is one of the best films of the year. In that role, Yeoh gets to show off some of her vocal talents in a rare musical number. The film also gives Yeoh the chance to add more depth to the character, which in the musical production is a much more tertiary role. Yeoh adds her trademark regal elegance and strength to Wicked, and Morrible’s impact on the story is that much more powerful.
I had the chance to speak with Yeoh about the role, as well as her career as a whole. We talked about how she tackled singing along with some of the most incredible voice talents in the industry, what kinds of opportunities she is seeking at this point in her career, and how she has navigated the various challenges she has faced. Of course, I also had to ask Yeoh the very important question of where she keeps her Oscar statue.
“It’s going home with me to Malaysia when I go back for Christmas. It’s time-shared between my husband Jean and my mother,” Yeoh said laughing about the iconic award.
In the past, Yeoh shared that she left Hollywood for two years due to only having stereotypical roles available to her. I asked Yeoh how it feels to finally be at a place in her career where she’s not having quite so many roadblocks thrown her way due to industry stereotypes. Yeoh seems unbothered by the challenges of her past, and emphasized the importance of moving forward.
“It’s looking forward. Always look forward. Looking forward to seeing what other challenges and what other things that I can do, that really gives me the excitement of my career,” Yeoh said. “What I’ve done, I’ve done. Now what can I do that’s going to be more challenging and exciting for my audience? So that’s what I look forward to.”
It makes sense that Yeoh would always keep her focus on the future, and not get bogged down by any frustrations she might have dealt with in the past. Of course, her answer begged the follow up question of what it is she is looking forward to now after all she has accomplished. Yeoh talked about how hard she has worked over the last few years and the need to slow down and figure out what’s next.
“There are so many things I want to do! And I am trying very hard to sort of pin it down. But what I really really really want to do is to take a step back and take it all in. Because since the Oscars, I haven’t stopped, and I hadn’t stopped before that, so you really need to. Sometimes, when someone says to you, ‘Stop and smell the roses,’ there’s true meaning in that. Because you don’t enjoy what you have if you don’t stop for a moment or two,” Yeoh said.
To say that Yeoh isn’t slowing down is an understatement. Since Everything Everywhere All At Once released in 2022, Yeoh has added eleven additional credits to her resume, which span animated voice roles, TV shows and films. The numerous new projects are a testament to both Yeoh’s talent and work ethic and the fact that Hollywood has finally started to see the light. Yeoh herself talked about how the beautifully diverse cast of Wicked would not have happened if this film was made a decade ago.
“I’m really thankful that our producers, the people who have held onto this amazing legacy and property, to only do it now. Because if they had done it 10 years ago, we wouldn’t be part of this, right? So when we say we have worked so hard towards diversity and inclusivity, it shows. It happens. And with Wicked you have it. The magic is there.”
Watch my full conversation with Queen Michelle below and watch Wicked in theaters, November 22nd.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
