'Hollywood has always been more concerned about Hollywood': Michelle Yeoh on showbiz realising there are Asian talents

Over the last couple of years, a change has swept over Hollywood as they're starting to embrace and discover a hidden trove of Asian talents.

Not just talents from within the US or Canada, but also those from our neck of the woods. For example, we have Tony Leung in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Don Lee in Eternals and most recently, the cast of Squid Game had a meteoric rise to fame in the US.

However, Hollywood has also come under fire for not realising that some of these actors are famous in their own right.

An American reporter was criticised last year for not knowing how popular Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae is in South Korea and asked what he missed most about anonymity.

Just last month, director Steven Spielberg called the cast "unknown people" and got some flak for that.

So, when we spoke to Asian cinema legend (and kung fu goddess) Michelle Yeoh for her critically acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All at Once, we asked what she thought of Hollywood finally realising there are Asian talents.

The 59-year-old replied without missing a beat: "If you look at it, Hollywood has always been more concerned about Hollywood right? They're a market so they do whatever they can to protect it.

[[nid:572117]]

"And in the past, when there wasn't that big China market, the rest of the Asian market didn't really quite make the dent that they want from the box office.

"It's show business. We have to admit it and embrace it. And I think right now, we have to seize the opportunity to make sure that more talents that look like me are up there on the big screen."

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a sci-fi action comedy starring Michelle as a Chinese immigrant who runs a laundromat in the US.

She's suddenly drawn into a war where the fate of every universe is in her hands, and she meets different versions of herself, including one where she has hotdogs for fingers.

The film also stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu and James Hong.

Watch the video for the full interview with Michelle and Jamie.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is now showing in cinemas. 

bryanlim@asiaone.com