It's not easy for Chinese actors to do foreign films, and it's not easy for foreign actors to do Chinese films.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Being an actress in China, I'm actually a very lucky actress... Especially now that Chinese movies are becoming more diverse with more viewers overseas.
I always think it's really hard if you are Asian or Chinese to be really in Hollywood. There are not so many really great characters for you.
I look at American movies, the big muscles, and try to apply that to Chinese film-making.
We do see Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi and Chow Yun Fat, but it's very rare to see the Chinese male actor in Hollywood movies, which is something I take great umbrage with. You know, my son is Asian. He may want to direct one day; he may want to be an actor like his father - and I want that to be open to him.
I've built a career in Asia for 18 years, playing roles that had nothing to do with my race because everybody's Chinese in the films.
There's a huge interest in the Chinese market, and Hollywood has a huge interest in the Chinese market with films like 'Transformers' making more money over there than here.
The world looks at China as a big place with a lot of people, a good place to make money. And because so many Chinese families send their kids abroad to study, they are familiar with foreign cultures, so Hollywood films are very successful in China.
I must stick with Chinese language films.
It's so easy to make an Asian person the doctor, the lawyer, the smart kid in school. What's harder is challenging the norm and hiring Asian actors to play your Average Joe.
It's pretty easy to make a film in China. A few years ago I just walked into the office and let them know I wanted to make a movie called 'Red Cliff' and they were so excited. They said, 'Let's do it!' It's that simple.