‘An ordinary woman can be a superhero’: Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh

Singapore, Apr 18 (EFE).- Malaysian Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh said that last year’s ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ proved that “an ordinary woman can be a superhero.”

Speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, the actress hailed her Academy Award as a historic moment for Asians in the film industry.

She also said her win challenged the idea that female actors’ careers decline when they hit their forties.

The star, who was welcomed by a crowd of fans at the airport in the Malaysian capital on Monday night, posed with her Oscar statuette in front of a throng of journalists.

Yeoh, the first Malaysian to win an Oscar, has sparked a wave of admiration and pride in her home country, where earlier this month she brought the statuette to her mother and her father’s grave, as seen on photos shared on her Facebook page.

The actor, born in Ipoh in 1962, said that she had been on “an incredible journey” and on a “roller-coaster ride” that started in 2022 when the film was released.

“I have been very very blessed that I have continuously been able to work and work with very interesting, very diverse and very forward-thinking film makers that have enabled me to fight for what I truly believe: representation, diversity, and, especially, empowerment of women,” Yeoh said.

The actress said she was in love with the character she plays in the film, Evelyn Wang, the owner of a humdrum laundry who becomes a superhero in the multiverse “because she believed in herself, in her family and love.”

“And in every universe that was the core essence of our film. It’s about love, it’s about family, and how we never give up on each other,” Yeoh continued.

“In this one movie I got to do everything – it was an action film, it was a comedy, it was horror, science fiction,” she added.

Part of the success of the film was that it had mass appeal as well as connecting with a young Asian audience, the actor said.

Yeoh told reporters how being born in a multicultural country like Malaysia, which is a melting pot of Malay, Indian and Chinese communities, has helped her become a “global person.”

“I don’t see difference, I see opportunities to learn,” she said.

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, by directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, swept the 95th edition of the Oscars by bagging seven awards, including best film, best director and best actress. EFE

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