Who Is The Real Woman Behind The Scorpion Kick?

Much of Michelle Yeoh’s illustrious three-decade-long film career has been laid open for an adoring public. But who is the real woman behind the scorpion kick? Zaneta Cheng finds out

- Zaneta Cheng

That Michelle Yeoh is nothing like the characters she plays on screen becomes increasingly evident as our day’s shoot proceeds. She’s smaller than you’d ever imagine and exceedingly lovely to be around.

Between shots, Yeoh catches up with those she knows around her. “I hope your mum is feeling better,” she says to an old industry friend, with evident concern. She’s just as easy among those she doesn’t know, so we slowly gather round and, before we know it, everyone’s talking about the latest app they’re playing with, whipping out their phones to show her their new obsessions, just as they’d do with their favourite auntie.

This is in stark contrast to her roles such as Eleanor Young, the steely matriarch of Crazy Rich Asians, and the solemn and fierce martial-arts characters she’s known for, from that in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to her recent role in Ip Man 4. When I mention this, Yeoh’s response is easy and immediate. “But of course I’m not those characters. I’m an actor who’s stepping into different shoes and I hope that each time, I get the opportunity to explore a character that isn’t me. Because I don’t want my audiences to go, ‘Oh, that’s Michelle Yeoh playing whatever character in whatever movie, but it’s still Michelle Yeoh.’”

As it happens, “Michelle Yeoh” almost didn’t become the household name it is today. In her early Hong Kong movies, the Malaysian-born actress went by Michelle Khan, which a local studio considered more marketable to international audiences. “It’s quite a funny story when they did that Michelle Khan thing,” she recalls.