An accomplished martial arts director from Hong Kong, Sammo Hung first saw Michelle Yeoh in early 1984 when she arrived for a screen test in hopes of landing her very first role, a bit of an action comedy role. The Owl vs Bombo.
On Sunday night, Hung watched as Yeoh accepted an Oscar for her role as the universe-jumping housewife Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere Everything at once – and he was part of the city that celebrated Yeoh’s victory as if she were one of them.
“I’m very happy for her,” Hung said. “She had talent from the start and we could all see it. We’ve never had many Chinese at this point [Oscars] phase. I hope this means many more will follow from now on.”
Malaysian-born Yeoh turned to Hong Kong’s legendary film industry as her future as a 22-year-old. Injuries had curtailed her dreams of becoming a ballet dancer and her training at London’s Royal Academy of Dance, and Yeoh had been voted Miss Malaysia in 1983. But she was looking for a career change.
On the advice of studio heads, Hung – who had worked with Bruce Lee in the early 1970s and helped create Jackie Chan’s martial arts styles, among other things – was told to give the aspiring actress a chance.
“She was very easy to work with from the start,” said Hung. “My boss just said that here is a girl from Malaysia that we want to work with. After that first role, we really wanted to see how far we could take her. We immediately thought, ‘Why don’t we see if she can be an action star?’”
The 71-year-old Hung — himself honored for his lifetime achievement on Sunday night at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong — cast Yeoh in another small role, alongside Chan in 1985’s Twinkle, Twinkle, Lucky Stars. But in his role as a producer, he then gave her the lead role in another action comedy, Yes Madamthe same year.
Thus, Yeoh’s future – and her fortune – was put in his path. Yes Madam was one of the first in the genre to cast female leads, and Yeoh plunged into the challenge of playing an armed inspector chasing down corrupt and often violent gangsters, she later revealed that she trained eight hours a day, learned martial arts and her sculpted body to match the image of an action star. The film’s success spawned eight sequels.
“She’s always worked really hard, from the very beginning,” said Hung. She also had luck and timing. She arrived when the Hong Kong film market was very good and there were many opportunities. She worked hard and used her talents. When the film industry in Hong Kong was not doing well, she found opportunity in America – so she took a chance. Everything Michelle has, she made for herself.
