Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh has gained another another achievement.
The renowned Malaysian actress received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the American Film Institute on Saturday, August 13. (AFI). A non-profit organisation devoted to filmmaking and its different fields is called the AFI.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directors of Yeoh's film Everything Everywhere All At Once, were present to present her with the honour at the ceremony, which took place at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre (collectively known as The Daniels).
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Yeoh entered the stage and began her statement by praising AFI for making her mother “the happiest mother in the world.”
“I believe she now genuinely believes I am an adult with a legitimate job. I had to constantly remind her that I wasn't a genuine doctor and that I didn't write prescriptions.”
“But she can go around telling everyone, ‘My daughter is a doctor',” Yeoh, who turned 60 on Aug 6, said.
She discussed in her speech how she practically started from scratch when learning the trades.
Yeoh recalled training at the gym with stuntmen who taught her how to fall when she began her acting career in Hong Kong.
“I thought I was being played for a fool. When will I get to do the jumping kick and the roundhouse kick, I was asking.
How are you going to get up if you don't know how to come down, they asked me. I still remember that lesson now. I had to become adept at falling.
Yeoh reportedly added, “After I learned how to fall, I could learn how to fly,” as reported by the trade journal.
And she did fly. Yeoh received her big break outside of Hong Kong after years of establishing herself as a powerful action actress in films like Yes, Madam, Police Story 3, and The Heroic Trio. In 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies, with Pierce Brosnan, she was chosen to play a Bond girl.
Yeoh has since been extremely busy in Hollywood working in a variety of movies, including Crazy Rich Asians, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Star Trek: Discovery.
She has five films with leading roles this year alone: Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Minion: The Rise Of Gru, Paws Of Fury: The Legend Of Hank, The School Of Good And Evil, and Avatar: The Way Of Water.
Graduates from the film school's 2022 class attended the ceremony. Yeoh offered some guidance to them.
“Today, I want to tell you that our missteps and mistakes are the keys to our flight. Everybody who has ever taken the stage has experienced their fair share of accidents. That's part of the deal, believe me.
Luck, according to the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actor, is success without failure.
Yeoh also emphasised to the graduates the need of not taking storytelling as a given.
We are world builders, time travellers, and change agents. A scene you film on a typical Tuesday might start an important conversation in our culture, inspire a future superstar, or plant hopes in the minds of young children far away “She spoke.
The actress advised the grads to “be daring, take chances, and break barriers” as she concluded her remarks.
“Take pride in your distinct qualities. Most crucial, remember that you are learning to fly and don't be frightened to fall.
