From a laundromat owner to a goddess seems like a titanic leap. But not for Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh. Yeoh won the Oscar for the surreal comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and is now the Goddess of Mercy in a reiteration of the graphic novel “American Born Chinese.”
“The Goddess of Mercy is a very well‑known god in our world,” says Yeoh of the character she plays in the eight-part series, which premieres Wednesday on Disney+.
“There are a lot of things written about her and understanding where she comes from. But we were always, always very respectful of the Goddess of Mercy because she's very, very iconic in our world. And we had to be careful of how we did that without taking too much liberty and sort of damaging her persona,” she says.
The Goddess of Mercy, known as Guanyin, is only one of the mythological gods that intrudes in the bewildering life of high school sophomore Jin Wang in the series. Trying to juggle his school life and his home life is enough for any kid, but he finds himself unwittingly entangled in the battles of otherworldly gods. It’s enough to ruin his day.
“In the Chinese families, you have an altar, and you always have the Goddess of Mercy, because she's the Goddess of Compassion and she is there,” continues Yeoh, 60.
“She didn't go back to the heavens because she stayed to look after the people of the world. So all of us have the Goddess of Mercy in our house.”
Yeoh began her ascent as a dancer, but an injury curtailed that endeavor and she and went on to execute her own stunts in several martial arts films. “I started my career in Hong Kong,” she recalls.
“Then, when everybody looked at Hollywood — that's the ultimate dream, to be able to come to Hollywood, to be in a Hollywood movie, with directors like John Wu, Charlie Hawk. ... People didn't really know Japan, Korea, China, and they always acted so surprised. They would say, ‘You speak English?’ And you go, ‘Uh-h-h-h, yes.’ I know I tell this horrible joke. I said, ‘The flight coming here was, like, 13 hours. So I learned on the way.’ ”
Yeoh toiled her way into the James Bond movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” with Pierce Brosnan. “I was very fortunate when ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ came along, and it was (producers) Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson — they had the foresight to think ‘we have to be inclusive. And James Bond is such a legacy that they have to keep evolving.’ So I was very fortunate,” she nods.
“I met visionary filmmakers, filmmakers that I worked with, whether it was Rob Marshall, Danny Boyle, Ang Lee — people who knew that they had to keep pushing the envelope further and further. And then I was blessed, so blessed.”
Yeoh marshaled some juicy roles following James Bond including parts in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Crazy Rich Asians.”
“When I received the script of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ it was overwhelming,” she remembers.
“It was, like, these two goofballs who are insanely talented had the courage to shine the light on a very ordinary woman, aging, ... who was trying to make ends meet, keep the family together and all of the things that we find so relatable.
“Yes, I think we have broken that glass ceiling,” she says. “I hope Ninja kicked it to hell and it will never come back, like Humpty Dumpty (never) together again.”
Yeoh remarks that it had been 26 years since an all-Asian film had been shot when “Crazy Rich Asians” came along. That last film was Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club.” “So I think a lot was riding on whether it was successful or not. And god forbid, what if ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ wasn't as successful as it was? So thanks to John Chu's brilliance ... he's such a good storyteller, and that's what we need is the storytellers, the storytellers like that, because they understand what are the stories that need to be told and give us more opportunities.”
The actress admits that her phone has been buzzing since her prize-winning performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
“There are so many things I am looking forward to doing, but I was offered a dream part just recently. I've been invited to join the cast of ‘Wicked,’ one and two. So there's singing involved. I've never done that before. So it's quite exciting, and I don't know. But, I'm with the Disney family. Disney family, you can sing and dance and do everything, right?”
Peacock preens with 'Yellowstone'
All four of the previous seasons of the super hit “Yellowstone” will be streaming on Peacock Thursday along with all eight episodes of the first part of Season 5. Kevin Costner heads a dynamic cast including the British-born Kelly Reilly, and the surprise of the series, Cole Hauser as the steely Rip. Few people know that Hauser is the son of actor Wings Hauser and the great grandson of Harry M. Warner (one of the Warner Bros.) So it’s no wonder he’s such a good actor.
Costner, 68, has always kept to his promise of quality work, and “Yellowstone” is a prime example. But as for him, the actor remains true to his own guidelines.
“(Being) self-effacing is a weird thing,” he says. “No one wants to get caught bragging. So if you have a sensibility about yourself at all you try to be self-effacing. That's like a way to behave; it's not a ploy. I’m more comfortable being around people who are not impressed with themselves. It's very clear what they do. Now can we drop it? Because I've always been capable of dropping it. I wasn’t a child star, not someone that hit when he was 21 years old either. I have my ideas about people I’ve respected, at least from long distance, and theirs are ways you'd like to conduct your life.”
Experts beat the devil in new show
Fans of the fictional movie “The Exorcist” are waiting in the wings for the Travel Channel’s new thriller, “Eli Roth Presents: the Legion of Exorcists” arriving June 1. Yep, real guys who whop the devil out of poor afflicted creatures.
Assembled from across the country, these practitioners use their faith to counteract the evil where they find it. Roth, actor, producer, director is known for his splatter films like “Cabin Fever,” “Hostel,” “Thanksgiving,” serves as host of “Legion.” The show features exorcists sharing their experiences with the malevolent as well as dramatic re-enactments.
Why are people so fascinated with the dark side? Anthony Hopkins, who played one of the scariest creatures of all time, Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs,” says, “I remember people lining up for hours to see ‘Psycho’ or ‘The Exorcist.’ Does that mean those people are sick? I don't think so. People just like to get a fright. It's the purists and hypocrites who jump up and down.
“It's the same reason people go on roller coasters. It's like a close brush with death, or whatever. I mean, that's pretty scary, going on a roller coaster. And they all come off laughing. Now what is the psychological need there? It's like watching young animals like puppies and kittens playing and wrestling, it's a struggle to survive. It's all a game, and that's what we are. We're game players, and we are still children inside.
"People always ask me why I've played Hannibal. And I say, ‘I don't know. If I supply a need for that in this particular role, so be it.’ I love a scary movie. I like Hitchcock, or watching cliffhangers, like ‘The Fugitive.’ And you do sit there, and it makes your toes curl. But it's not YOU going through it. Just like you might think it would be amusing to have lunch with Hannibal Lecter, as long as you're not the lunch!”
'Anything Goes' for Foster
Sutton Foster reprises her role as Reno Sweeney in the evergreen Cole Porter musical “Anything Goes” on PBS’ “Great Performances: Anything Goes” Friday (check local listings). The lighthearted saga features such great numbers as “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top” and, of course, “Anything Goes.”
The talented Foster, 58, earned a Tony for this performance. She tells me as a kid she was bursting with energy and adored attracting attention. “I was a bit of a spaz and my mom put me in dance classes when I was 4, and I loved that. So it all sort of started there,” she says.
“Then I started doing local theater and it was like a place where I fit in, where I belonged that made sense. I wasn’t really into sports. I wasn’t a huge brainiac in school. But theater and acting, it just was where I fit in. I was a theater geek. I wasn’t popular at all. I went through the awkwardest of awkwardest phases when I was 12 or 13, and I shot up to 5 foot 9 when I was 14 and eventually grew into my teeth. And I'm still working on it.”
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