26 Apr – Home-grown Hollywood actress, Datuk Michelle Yeoh admitted that it was not easy to carry and convey the name and character of Aung San Suu Kyi's in "The Lady", a biographical film by French director Luc Besson, as the two are vastly different people, in both background and ethnicity.
"Every day I have to wake up early in the morning to train and run for every one hour and a half before and after the shooting starts. The physical aspects of the preparations were really important for me so that I will have enough stamina to endure the whole shooting process. Further, I needed to have a physique that is similar to Aung San Suu Kyi," explained Yeoh.
The 49-year-old actress admitted that in order to convincingly portray the icon, she had to converse some of the movie's dialogue in Burmese, which turned out to be one of the biggest challenges she faced.
The Perak-born lass had a tutor in Burmese language to help her in memorising and pronouncing the long lines of dialogue for the movie's scenes, especially the part where the leader for the National Democracy had to give her speech during the campaign.
"I admit that in order for me to really bring Suu Kyi's character alive onscreen, I would have to convey my speech in the scene where she gives her speech in front of the Burmese people in Burmese. Not only was the dialogue really long, but it was a one-time take in order to capture the emotional impact of the speech on the citizens who had been listening," explained Yeoh during the press conference for "The Lady" at Ritz-Carlton, KL, last Tuesday.
Filming challenges aside, Yeoh was also asked about the possibility of her jumping into politics after playing such an iconic political character. However, the star denied further interest in that area.
"I have never thought about joining the politics. I believe acting is the only thing suitable for me. I don't have the personality to become a politician," remarked Yeoh.
Besides Yeoh, "The Lady" also stars David Thewlis, Jonathan Woodhouse and Jonathan Ragget. It will be shown in selected cinemas in Malaysia this 3 May.