Michelle Yeoh inspired Uma Thurman, Quentin Tarantino during the making of Kill Bill

However, the director found Yeoh's martial arts skills to be too impressive for his own movie

By Katie Chow  |  August 18, 2022 | 3:09pm
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Michelle Yeoh inspired Uma Thurman, Quentin Tarantino during the making of Kill Bill
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Michelle Yeoh Photo: Jon Kopaloff

Michelle Yeoh’s career has taken many turns. She’s been a beauty queen, a ballerina, a movie star, and then a movie star again. Now, she’s an early favorite for an Oscar nomination, thanks to her powerful performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

The press tour for the genre- and multiverse-hopping film has already led to the Malaysian-born martial arts veteran sharing a number of remarkable anecdotes from her past projects, such as jumping between moving vehicles for Supercop and Quentin Tarantino encouraging her to not give up acting after she was sidelined by an injury. Now, in a new cover story for Town & Country, Yeoh and Tarantino offer up some new details about their friendship.

The Pulp Fiction director gave Yeoh the fateful pep talk that would lead to her making her English-language debut in the 1997 James Bond installment Tomorrow Never Dies, but she hasn’t appeared in any of his work (and, if he keeps his word on only making 10 movies, opportunities are running out). While Supercop—the film that nearly cost Yeoh her life in 1992—inspired Tarantino and his star Uma Thurman during the making of 2003's Kill Bill, there was seemingly no room for the actor amongst all the martial arts spectacle.

“I asked Quentin the same question,” Yeoh tells Town & Country. “He’s very smart. He said, ‘Who would believe that Uma Thurman could kick your ass?’”

There you have it! Nearly 20 years later, it seems pretty obvious that Yeoh could still best the Bride even with hot dogs for hands.

Everything Everywhere All At Once was recently rereleased in theaters with bonus outtakes and is available on demand. Yeoh will be seen again later this year in The School For Good And Evil, Avatar: The Way Of Water, and The Witcher: Blood Origin.

 
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