For Michelle Yeoh, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and Its Sequel Are Labors of Love

By
Netflix

Michelle Yeoh has been fighting on screen for over two
decades. First, performing her own stunts in Hong Kong action films that also made
stars of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and later crossing over into
English-language films as one of the toughest Bond girls James has ever seen.
Now, at 53, the actress has returned to her most famous role as Yu Shu Lien, a
female warrior, in Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon: The Sword of Destiny
.

The new film -- on Netflix and in limited IMAX release on Friday,
Feb. 26 -- comes 16 years after Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon
first captivated audiences with its artistic interpretation
of martial arts. The period drama, set in China during the Qing dynasty,
combined romance with cinematic views and visually stunning fight sequences. Directed
by Ang Lee, it was Sense and Sensibility
with martial arts.

For Yeoh, the film experience itself can only be described
as a labor of love. “Crouching Tiger
was made with a lot of pain,” she tells ETonline of the journey to make the movie. 

Getty Images

The idea was first pitched to her in 1997 while promoting the
James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies.
“He painted this watercolor -- you know, this Chinese painting -- and I waited
for him,” she adds. Soon after, Yeoh and Lee went on a journey together to
explore different martial arts and to figure out what story the director was
eventually going to tell.

Two years later, after creating Yu Shu Lein with Lee, Yeoh started
shooting the film, only to tear her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It was a serious
(and excruciating) injury for the actress, forcing her to get knee surgery. “When
I see myself walking so gracefully and slowly on screen, it was because I had a
brace on,” she laughs.

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Despite the setback, Yeoh was able to complete the film,
eventually earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress for her performance. The
film itself won four of its 14 total BAFTA nominations and took home four
Academy Awards.

“I have so many fond memories of making the film even though
I was living with a lot of pain at that time,” she says. “I would have not
changed it because of the emotion, the love, the poetry that you could see in
the film. It just all came pouring out.”

Netflix

Sword of Destiny
-- which Yeoh jokingly says “took a lot of persuasion” for her to do -- was far
less painful of an experience. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, the story takes place
20 years after the first, following the journey in the same series of wuxia
novels by Du Lu Wang on which the films are based.

Yeoh’s biggest challenge was returning to the martial arts
world, which she had not worked in since Reign
of Assassins
in 2010. But the actress likes the physical challenge and
being able to do things -- say, flying through the air -- she can’t do in real
life. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s in incredible shape.

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“She is stronger than you think,” her co-star, Harry Shum,
Jr.
, tells ETonline. “When I first met her, I thought, She is like a momma bear and takes care of you. Then they yelled
action and she put me to that ground so fast. I was so stunned -- it was a
genuine reaction you saw on screen.”

Despite her age, Yeoh is going to keep fighting until it
shows on screen. “When you look at my action, you can see I still have the
fire,” she says. “So, I'm going to be out there kicking a** for as long as I
can.”