Michelle Yeoh Almost Quit EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Over Changing the Name of Her Character

This year’s sci-fi adventure film Everything Everywhere All At Once was one of the best movies of the year. It covered family relationships, martial arts, interdimensional travel, and hot dog fingers. What more could you ask for, really? There’s a lot of awards buzz surrounding the film, and its star, Michelle Yeoh. But before she showed up to shoot the film, Yeoh had a request of The Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), who wrote and directed the film, and it was something she wasn’t willing to budge on.

Speaking to Cate Blanchett as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Yeoh revealed that her character’s original name in the script was Michelle Wang. While she has great things to say about the helmers of the film, she explained the one change she had to make:

“The only thing I said to them was, ‘The character cannot be called Michelle Wang.’ They’re like, ‘But why? It’s so you.’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m not an Asian immigrant mother who’s running a laundromat. She needs her own voice.’ That was the only thing. I’m like, ‘If you don’t change the name, I’m not coming in.'”

The character’s name was ultimately changed to Evelyn Wang, and now Yeoh is likely heading to the Academy Awards after earning some of the best reviews of her career. Her beloved performance in the movie even led Time magazine to name Yeoh as its icon of 2022.

She went on to sing the directors’ praises, saying:

“I always want to work with younger directors. Because they throw challenges at you that don’t come your way often. I was very gratified that finally I was getting a script with a very nondescript woman, immigrant woman, and she’s been around us for the longest time, trying to live the American dream — and so have I. And to make such an ordinary woman be extraordinary, it’s very fulfilling, because I think that is all of us.”

Her performance was incredible, and the movie was so outrageous and so touching and beautiful. I look forward to seeing what awards it rakes in. Everything Everywhere All At Once is available to watch on Showtime with a subscription, as well as streaming platforms and DVD/Blu-Ray.

via: Variety