Michelle Yeoh looking for new challenges after historic Oscar win last month
60-year-old Oscar winner says she may branch out again as a producer
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Michelle Yeoh says she is looking for new challenges including as a producer, as she credited perseverance, hard work and passion for her historic Oscar win last month.
The 60-year-old became the first Asian to win the Academy Award for best actress for her performance as a laundromat owner in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." The movie won a total of seven awards, including best picture.
Returning to her native Malaysia to celebrate her mother's birthday, Yeoh said she felt a sense of relief after clinching the award.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MICHELLE YEOH CALLED FIRST OSCAR WINNER 'WHO IDENTIFIES AS ASIAN’ IN VIRAL POST: 'SHE IS ASIAN'
"It was a roller coaster ride that started last year when the movie first came out. It was a whole year of not knowing, wanting, hoping, wishing," she told a news conference. "During the journey, everyone was asking, ‘Do you want the Oscar?’ I said, hell, yes, of course I want the Oscar. Who doesn't? I am not going to beat around the bush and say no because it represents so much to so many of us."
Yeoh reiterated that her Oscar victory was a "beacon of hope" for Asian women.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It shows us it can be done and all of you can do it," she said.
Actress Michelle Yeoh holds up her Oscar award during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 18, 2023. Yeoh won the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Everything Everywhere All at Once." (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Yeoh, who started her career in Hong Kong before becoming a Hollywood star, said she was blessed to have been able to work on diverse movies and with "forward thinking filmmakers to fight for what I truly believe in — representation, diversity, especially empowerment of women." She said she refuses to be boxed in stereotypical roles but believes in pushing the envelope in her career.
MICHELLE YEOH DELETES INSTAGRAM POST ABOUT 'NON-WHITE BEST ACTRESS WINNER'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While she has no interest in directing, she said she may branch out again as a producer.
"Directors have no life. I love my life too much," she said in jest. "I love producing. I have produced before and now I can start to do so again … now I am able to branch out more because people have started to listen, and appreciate what you can bring forward. As an actor, I love what I can do. I am so lucky to be able to say it’s not a job, it's really a passion."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yeoh said she will be heading back to London to complete the filming of "Wicked," a two-part movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical directed by Jon Chu. She said she hopes to return to Asia in the next few months.
"I am always looking for a challenge," Yeoh said. "I believe there is so much to do in our part of the world. All of us collectively. Don't isolate yourself. Don't feel that I must always tell my story. We are collaborators, we are storytellers. Let's work together and do great things."