Jamie Lee Curtis says Michelle Yeoh is ‘the reason’ for her Oscar nomination
By Iris Jung
Jamie Lee Curtis has attributed her recent Oscar nomination to her “Everything Everywhere All at Once” co-star Michelle Yeoh.
Curtis made the comments on the most recent episode of the podcast “Variety Awards Circuit.” Curtis is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, her first Oscar nomination, for her performance as IRS inspector Deirdre Beaubeirdre in the Daniels’ hit A24 film.
“Michelle Yeoh is the reason that for the rest of my life, you will say, ‘Oscar-nominated actress Jamie Lee Curtis,'” she said while being overcome with emotion. “Michelle Yeoh is the reason that is happening.”
“When my agent called me and said, ‘[Jamie], there’s this movie with the Daniels’ … and he said, ‘It stars Michelle Yeoh and you would play her nemesis,’ and I said, ‘I’ll do it,’ and he said, ‘No, no, no, Jamie, you need to read this [the script], it’s out there a little’ … I said, ‘I’ll do it.'”
Curtis continued, “The reason I brought Michelle Yeoh up … I believe originally it [the rock scene in the film] was going to be voiceover. And I think Michelle Yeoh was the one who said, ‘No, it should be subtitled. It should be silent.’ … F*ck. F*ck. I mean, come on. … So, Michelle Yeoh.”
This is not the first time Curtis has shared her admiration for her co-star.
In early January, the actor went viral for her excited reaction to Yeoh’s Golden Globe win.
Days later, she went viral again on social media for an Instagram post of herself wearing a gifted meme-ified shirt with a picture of her reaction.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” has 11 Oscar 2023 nominations in total, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Yeoh is notably nominated for Best Actress, while Ke Huy Quan is nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Meanwhile, Stephanie Hsu is also nominated for Best Supporting Actress alongside Curtis.
With a career that spans over five decades, Curtis also shared some advice with “Variety Awards Circuit” about becoming an actor.
There is no prerequisite to be in this business. Hustle, talent, timing, hard work … boom! And if you have the acumen of a film degree, does that help you? Of course, but it’s not a requirement. It’s about something coming alive on the screen, and I don’t think you can teach that.
Despite her prolific career, however, Curtis refers to herself as a “freelance” and “unemployed” actor, as well as “accidental” and “untrained.”
“Life is hinging on a couple seconds I never saw coming,” she declared.
Curtis’ career appears to be long from over as she is set to join Amazon and Nicole Kidman for an upcoming adaptation of Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta novels.
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