Michelle Yeohwasn’t originally slated for the leading role in her latest film.
In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporterpublished Tuesday, director duo Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, collectively known as Daniels, revealed thatJackie Chanwas the person envisioned for the lead role inEverything Everywhere All at Once, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival last Friday in Austin, Texas.
“At first we were like, ‘Action movie, going to star a dude,’ " Scheinert said regarding the brothers' second film. But as Kwan explained, the partners took the role in a different direction.
“We were having trouble figuring out the casting for the father figure, and one of us started wondering what happens if we take Michelle’s character and flop it and she becomes the protagonist,” Kwan toldTHR. “And the film just opened up in a completely different way.”
Michelle Yeoh inEverything Everywhere All at Once(2022).David Bornfriend/A24
Though Yeoh was not originally imagined as the lead, she was always part of Daniels' ideal cast. The duo initially pictured Yeoh as Chan’s wife but felt that bringing her in as the lead was a game-changer.
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“As soon as we switched it, we were like, ‘Oh, now the husband and wife characters are more relatable. Why on earth didn’t we write it this way from the get-go?’ " Scheinert told toTHR.
The next step was asking Yeoh to participate in the film, though Kwan said, “It felt like a bit of a pipe dream.”
“[It was] really thrilling and really scary,” he continued, “because we were like, ‘No one else in the world can play this role. If she says no, maybe the movie dies.’ "
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
Daniels' first met up with Yeoh at the Beverly Wilshire around the same time as theCrazy Rich Asianspremiere in 2018, THR reports. Scheinert said the actress “immediately teased us for writing something so weird” with their first filmSwiss Army Manfrom 2016 starringPaul Dano,Daniel RadcliffeandMary Elizabeth Winstead.
He added that “it was so lovely that there was not this kind of standoffishness, but she wasn’t fake nice either. It was like she was our aunt right away.”
Kwan shared similar sentiments. “She has a very familial energy,” the filmmaker toldTHR. “Everywhere she goes, she’s very nurturing, and she feels very much like the matriarch of every situation she’s in.”
Everything Everywhere All at Oncehits theaters on April 8.
source: people.com
