Michelle Yeoh: ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon cast were not celebrated by Hollywood’

Michelle Yeoh is pleased to see the Crazy Rich Asians cast being included in the awards conversation this year (18).

The Malaysian actress starred in her first film in 1984 and went on to bag roles in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies alongside Pierce Brosnan, and most notably, Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The 2000 Chinese language martial arts film became an international success and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, taking home a total of four gongs. However, Michelle was hurt that none of the film’s cast received any individual nominations of their own.

“In Crouching Tiger, we as actors were not involved in the conversation,” she explained to Entertainment Weekly. “It does hurt inside, because you feel you are not validated as an actor. Your peers did not think your acting should be considered, even though your movie is considered for all these things.”

However, the 56-year-old believes that the reception to Crazy Rich Asians “feels different”.

Lead actress Constance Wu has already received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, while the entire cast is up for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“It feels like you’re being embraced,” said Michelle, who plays Eleanor Sung-Young in the film. “I think (that) embrace is not just for us alone. It’s almost for all the Asian actors that came before us and pushed us forwards.”

Crazy Rich Asians is the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority Asian-American cast in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993. Two sequels are currently in development.