Following 1995’s GoldenEye, Pierce Brosnan starred in his second James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies two years later.
This time around 007 would team up with Chinese agent Wai Lin, played by Michelle Yeoh, who was the first Asian to win the Best Actress Oscar for Everything Everywhere All At Once last year.
The 62-year-old Malaysian actress has gone on to star in some big Western movies, although right after playing a Bond girl it was really difficult for her.
Speaking previously with PEOPLE, Yeoh said: “The first movie I did after I came to America was Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan.
“James Bond at that point had only been known as macho, and the girls were just the ones with cutesy names.”
The Malaysian star turned the idea of the submissive Bond girl on its head by not only saving 007’s life but also pushing away his sexual advances. After impressing audiences and Hollywood, the offers began coming in, but they weren’t quite what she was hoping for.
Yeoh continued: “At that point, people in the industry couldn’t really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese or Japanese or Korean or if I even spoke English. They would talk very loudly and very slow. I didn’t work for almost two years, until Crouching Tiger, [Hidden Dragon] simply because I could not agree with the stereotypical roles that were put forward to me.”
Her role in the latter would earn her first Best Actress BAFTA nomination, which was followed last year a win for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
