KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Malaysian actress Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh was a no-go for director Quentin Tarantino for the starring role in Kill Bill as he felt nobody would believe Uma Thurman could kick her ass.
In an interview with Town & Country magazine as reported by Variety, the 60-year-old said she asked the director the question when the duo eventually met up.
"He’s very smart. He said, ‘Who would believe that Uma Thurman could kick your ass?'”, Yeoh reportedly said.
Tarantino is said to be Yeoh's superfan, and he has cited her performance in the 1992 Jackie Chan action comedy Police Story 3 as a major influence behind Thurman’s The Bride in Kill Bill.
Tarantino and Yeoh have known each other for a long time and he was responsible for inspiring Yeoh to continue acting after she was injured on the set of the 1996 movie The Stunt Woman.
"I thought I broke my back. I thought I was paralysed,” Yeoh said, adding that Tarantino visited her at the hospital in Hong Kong during the premier of Pulp Fiction in the city state.
Praising Tarantino for his persistence, Yeoh said he is who he is today because he’s full of passion and love.
Tarantino had previously told the magazine that he was a huge fan of Yeoh.
"There was always a twinkle in her eye,” he reportedly said.
