Michelle Yeoh reveals how acting just happened to ‘come by’ for her

LOS ANGELES —  Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh never dreamt of becoming an actress. The 60-year-old star made history earlier this year by becoming the first Asian to win the Best Actress Oscar for her role in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

She admitted that she had actually aspired to own a dance studio when she was younger, reports Female First UK.

Michelle told ET Canada: “I never dreamt of being on the silver screen. My world was always around dance, and I wanted to have my own school. I wanted to always be dancing with music and all that.”

As per Female First UK, the actress explained that being in the movie industry was simply an “opportunity that came by.”

Yeoh recalled: “And then I thought, well, you know, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And thankfully I loved it. And here I am today.”

The star revealed that the “best thing” about her awards success is that she is no longer only getting scripts for “Asian-looking” characters.

Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival recently, Michelle said, quoted by Female First UK: “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.”

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