Malaysian icon and legendary actress Michelle Yeoh is no stranger to confronting the harsher side of working in the film industry, with her career spanning to more than 40 years at this point in time. However, she recently sat down with American actress and fellow Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow to discuss her monumental achievement in winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2022.
Sharing a snippet of the interview to the official TikTok page belonging to Paltrow’s wellness and lifestyle brand Goop @goop, Yeoh revealed some insightful yet thought-provoking memories from that intense period of her life.
At the beginning of the video, Paltrow spoke briefly on her Oscar win in the same category for the role of Shakespeare in Love (1998). Mentioning the pressure she felt during that awards season, Paltrow stated that due to her age, as she was 26 years old at the time, she wondered what she would do next in her acting career.
“My mom is an actress, so I wanted to do what she did. She was so powerful when she was acting and so happy. So I was like, this is how you get freedom, by being on stage,” said Paltrow in the clip.
After that, Yeoh spoke about the preparation she underwent when she was nominated in 2022 for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and how much tension there was during that period of time.
“When I was headed towards that direction, you felt the pressure. It’s like a political campaign, it’s unbelievable. And you go, what? You have to do this when? How? Leading up to that? Especially the people from our part of the world, whether it’s in America, Europe, and especially in Asia, that hunger for this,” said Yeoh in the clip.
Commenting on the added pressure at the time, Yeoh revealed how strangers would approach her and tell her that she had to win the Oscar, even though the ultimate decision was not up to her. Adding to that, Yeoh candidly expressed how she wouldn’t know what to do if she didn’t win, due to the pressure she experienced at the time.
“All I remembered was Jean (Yeoh’s husband) jumping up and everyone was hugging me. Then I immediately shifted to, ‘I have stage fright, what am I going to say?’,” added Yeoh towards the end of the TikTok clip.
Garnering widespread attention for the video, one user spoke on Yeoh’s perspective in reference to viewing the preparation for the Oscars as a political campaign, as it is done that way in an effort to win the biggest award of the season.
“This is what I tell fans. Being nominated is part of the battle to win an Oscar or a Grammy. Artists and their teams really have to campaign,” wrote the user.
A number of users also flooded the comments section to express their praise towards Yeoh, including some Malaysians who stated how proud they were of Yeoh for her accomplishments.
Watch the full TikTok video below:
@goop Just two icons chatting about their respective Oscar wins. Listen to GP’s conversation with Michelle Yeoh at the link in bio. #goop
As the first Asian woman and Malaysian to win an Academy Award, you will always be a national treasure to us, Michelle!
Also read: Michelle Yeoh Will Be Receiving Her Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
