Michelle Yeoh is kicking 2024 off like she means to go on, by playing an icon in an an epic new series.
After an Oscar-winning performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, the 61-year-old – – is set to return to our screens in The Brothers Sun.
The series, from Brad Falchuk, Byron Wu and Amy Wang, premieres on January 4 and , who happens to be an expert assassin for the Triad – the very first scene shows him battling attackers while the plays in the background.
Unfortunately, Justin is forced to leave the oven behind and relocate to LA in order to protect his mom, Eileen (Michelle) and brother Bruce (Sam Song Li) as their enemies circle.
Michelle as the matriarch, facing down a fair few mobsters while making sure beloved Bruce gets his homework sorted, and that their house remains spick and span.
The Hollywood icon is famed for doing her own stunts and, speaking to Metro.co.uk, she insisted that there was no way she would ever shy away from the action – and that yes, actually, they do hurt. But it’s worth it.
Asked about whether she was ever worried about jumping straight into the stunts, she told us: ‘Oh, no, I think when you have to do it… First of all, I trust my stunt coordinators and my stunt team, they are brilliant at what they do. They incorporate how adept you are.
‘I know Justin and Sam, they all trained like crazy. Especially Justin, I’m so proud of him for that, because his role is probably the most physical of all of us.
‘With Jenny [Yang] and myself, we have a really rough tumble. We looked at each other and said, “We know what we are doing. Let’s just go for it.” Many times, that’s what you have to do, because otherwise it would look – I hate to say it – fake. Right?
‘The motivation for the action sequence is the most important. I think, for Justin especially, the opening sequence, you’re like, “Seriously?” It’s comedic, it’s over the top, but at the same time, you know it hurts, as well.’
Michelle plays Eileen to perfection, balancing the mom worried about losing her family to the Triad, while also figuring out her own ambitions in the shady world.
We see her struggle with her decision to leave Charles with her terrifying husband and flee to the US with Bruce, before rejoicing at having both sons under the same roof once again.
(She was so good in the role that we panicked about not doing our own homework on multiple occasions…)
Discussing how she prepared for the role, the Crazy Rich Asians actress continued: ‘It’s a mom who loves two of her sons, but she had to leave one behind with what she thought was a horrible father. He intended to be the number one of the Triad society over there.
‘She felt heartbroken that her son was groomed. Her eldest son literally was groomed. He didn’t have a choice – as a teenager, he was put into that world of violence. When you kill someone, your whole way of looking at life changes completely. So can you imagine, when you’re a child and you’re put to the test?
‘After that it was like she lost her grip, her hold, and the only way she felt that she could save her younger son was to make a deal with the father to say, “Let us go and live our lives away from all of you, away from this. I don’t want my youngest son to be exposed.”
‘Even though their life in Los Angeles was one that was very simple – she scrubbed floors to keep them afloat so that he could be like the other kids in school and have the latest knapsack.
‘She really worked so that they could have a very ordinary life that was that people would not take notice of, but blend into the community. She was with a community of aunties who played Mahjong, gossiped, but it also kept her abreast on what was happening in the world.’
Michelle added: ‘What was beautiful was the emotional arc, everything that was there, was on paper. It was well written, it was well structured.
‘As an actor, you’re going through eight episodes. So as you are reading it, you can see the emotion. What meets what, at what time, and how it all develops.’
The Brothers Sun is released on Netflix on January 4.
