I waited a long time for this,” Michelle Yeoh told me back in May last year, visibly emotional as she spoke. The revered doyenne of Asian cinema and stunt legend was speaking about recognition in general, which after decades in the industry, she was finally receiving in abundance thanks to her leading role in Everything Everywhere All At Once. There’s a good chance the Oscars were hardly on her mind then. The film and Yeoh were fantastic, but it was assumed that its early release meant EEAO would be forgotten come awards season.
And yet here we are on Oscars eve and the eccentric, unlikely comedy-drama is leading the pack with 11 nominations. Tonight, if numbers are anything to go by, Yeoh will ascend those tricky Dolby Theatre steps and take the stage at least once, if not multiple times. Thanks to EEAO, Yeoh has garnered praise and, in the past few months, some shiny trophies, too. She has picked up a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for her performance. She is the first Malaysian, and second Asian, actress to be feted with an Oscar nod. Yeoh’s career has been far from smooth sailing, though. Her story, with its underdog arc, Rocky Balboa-esque transformation and Quentin Tarantino cameo, is fit for a film adaptation itself.
