There have been some truly iconic martial arts experts who have gone on to become bonafide superstars in Hollywood. Names such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan pop up prominently, although when it comes to female actors, there is nobody who matches the kind of legacy Michelle Yeoh has created in the last few decades.
The 61-year-old actress has been a part of some truly iconic series, such as Transformers, Avatar, The Mummy, and became part of the MCU via her role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
As it turns out, the Malaysian actress has worked with fellow martial arts icon Jackie Chan in the past as well, in the form of 1992’s Supercop. As a matter of fact, her expertise in martial arts(despite no formal training!), and her ability to do dangerous stunts brought forth a hilarious response from Chan, who begged her to stop doing action scenes.
Michelle Yeoh was once begged by Jackie Chan to not perform dangerous stunts on Supercop
While the two legends are both iconic in their own rights, it turns out that Jackie Chan was once left stunned by Yeoh’s ability to perform dangerous stunts. Yeoh, by the time she got a starring role in Supercop, had already amassed a badass reputation in the industry, and was known to have performed a range of dangerous stunts in movies such as Yes, Madam! and Easy Money.
However, the ease with which she performed stunts in Supercop resulted in Chan himself asking her to stop due to a hilarious reason, according to an interview with the Guardian:
He once pleaded with her to stop performing such dangerous feats. “I told him, ‘You’re a fine one to ask me to stop! You’re always doing them.’ He said, ‘That’s because when you do one, I have to go one better.’ The pressure was on him, poor dude.
The hilarious response from Chan suggested that the Rush Hour actor did have some sense of a competitive spirit but was tired of keeping up with Yeoh, who evidently matched her move for move.
Michelle Yeoh is arguably the greatest female martial arts expert of Hollywood
There are not many female actors who have been able to perform the kind of stunts Yeoh made a career out of. Initially aiming to become a ballet dancer, it was a back injury that gave Hollywood one of its biggest Asian icons. The Guardian interview also saw her reveal her approach towards action scenes in general, as she claimed that it was all about a transfer of energy, for her:
I just needed to learn to transfer the energy. Action is more about how you deliver that energy, pushing it forward.
Still, despite not having any training in martial arts, Yeoh keeping up with Chan in itself makes her a legend of sorts. The actress was met with a fair share of skepticism towards the beginning of her career, as she revealed how stuntmen on a project she was working on in Hong Kong also had similar advice for Yeoh:
They literally folded their arms, stood back and watched me. But I followed them move for move. I was in that gym from 8:30 am until sundown every day.
Needless to say, Michelle Yeoh has also proved her acting skills in the variety of roles she has taken up in the industry and will be remembered well past her career by movie enthusiasts worldwide.
Supercop is available to be watched on Amazon Prime.
