Michelle Yeoh on sweet way her ‘Wicked family’ celebrated her Oscar win on set
Exclusive: "I left the next day to come back on set," says Yeoh, who won the gong for Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, adding: "We were on a tight schedule!"
Michelle Yeoh has shared details of how she celebrated her 2022 Best Actress Oscar win on the set of Wicked.
The star, who plays Mistress Morrible in the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, won the Oscar for her starring role in Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.
Yeoh was in the middle of the Wicked shoot with Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey in London at the time – and so took her statuette there shortly after the ceremony.
“Every time I came back to the Wicked family, it was so grounding” – Michelle Yeoh
“I remember that period very clearly,” Yeoh told us. “I was going back and forth, LA, New York, back to London, back to LA. Non-stop. Thank you Marc Platt [producer] and Jon M. Chu [director] for being so thoughtful and considerate to adjust – scheduling is not easy!”
“Every time I came back to the Wicked family, it was so grounding,” the star continued. “I was so out there in La La Land, it was crazy! ‘Please don’t misstep.’ It was the first time I ever had an opportunity to be in that environment, and push a movie, all of us, for the Oscars. It was scary, daunting. But coming back to London and being in the Wicked family was: ‘Now I know what I’m doing. I’m surrounded by people who love me.'”
“He said: ‘Bring your Oscar to set’ and I said: ‘Hell yeah!'”
“I left the next day to come back on set,” she recalled of the Academy Awards. “We were on a tight schedule. He said: ‘Bring your Oscar to set.’ I was like: ‘Hell yeah! You think every day you get one?!’
“I arrived and it was the ballroom scene, which was perfect timing, because everybody was there. He set it up so I came in through the top of the staircase – I walked in with my Oscar and it was another amazing moment.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Attitude asked Yeoh if she believes if Wicked could move the needle on equality. “I think this musical has been doing that for the longest of time, for two decades,” she replied.
“Right now, today, all the issues we are dealing with seem so apparent. Especially in how Jon [M. Chu, director] is telling the story as well. The inclusivity and diversity of the cast and crew and all that, is so reflective of what is needed today.”
Wicked hits UK cinemas tomorrow (Friday 22 November 2024).