“The first movie I did after I came to America was ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ with Pierce Brosnan.” Yeoh recently told People magazine. “James Bond at that point had only been known as macho, and the girls were just the ones with cutesy names.

Although Yeoh was praised for her progressive and action-ready Bond girl, she told People that the Hollywood offers that followed were exactly the opposite.

Flash forward over 25 years, and Yeoh is an Oscar-nominated actor and a recent Screen Actors Guild Award winner thanks to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Coincidentally, Yeoh’ role was originally written for a man and her directors, the Daniels, courted her “Police Story” and “Supercop” co-star Jackie Chan to star. When the role was changed to a woman, Yeoh had some demands regarding the character’s name.

“The only thing I said to them was, ‘The character cannot be called Michelle Wang,’” Yeoh said.  “They’re like, ‘But why? It’s so you.’ I’m like, ‘No, I’m not an Asian immigrant mother who’s running a laundromat. She needs her own voice.’ That was the only thing. I’m like, ‘If you don’t change the name, I’m not coming in.’”

The character’s name was ultimately changed to Evelyn Wang, and the rest is history. “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards, including best picture.