We can't imagine a world in which anyone other than Michelle Yeoh is the main character in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, but according to the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actor, that was almost the case.
Yeoh recently sat down with fellow likely-Oscar-nominee Cate Blanchett for a segment of Variety's "Actors on Actors 2022."
She revealed to Blanchett:
"With [directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert], I had to see if they were certifiably insane, in the best possible way."
"It's very important that I feel the director is a visionary and I'm one of their tools."
"The only thing I said to them was, 'The character cannot be called Michelle Wang'."
"They're like, 'But why? It's so you'."
"I'm like, 'No, I'm not an Asian immigrant mother who's running a laundromat. She needs her own voice'."
The martial arts-trained actor finished:
"That was the only thing. If you don't change the name, I'm not coming in."
You can watch the clip below.
Several viewers agreed with her stance on the matter.
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
And many are grateful she didn't back out, singing their praises for Yeoh and for the film.
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
Variety/Facebook
During the 40-minute segment, Blanchett and Yeoh even talked about working together in the future (!).
Yeoh was also just cast as Madame Morrible in Universal Studios' film adaptation of Wicked which has a release date set for Christmas Day, 2024.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram