Michelle Yeoh, star of the acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All at Once, stopped by Desus & Mero recently to deliver a powerful message to stuntmen far and wide: She will not hesitate to beat your ass.
In this clip from the show’s April 14 episode, Yeoh tells the Bodega Boys about her experience coming up in the male-dominated industry of ’90s action films — a period that she would like to stress was not that long ago. Despite being willing and able to perform her own stunts, Yeoh’s male scene partners weren’t always convinced she could handle the full force of their contact, so they’d hold back during fight sequences and undersell scenes. They gave her no choice but to set the record straight. “My director would come up to me and say, ‘Just give him a proper punch. Just give him the kick, and then he will respect you,’†she explains.
Yeoh goes on to recall one particular moment when a well-respected actor kept softening his blows during filming, so she had no other option but to front-kick him in the chest and knock the bejesus out of him. Desus gets up playfully to help Yeoh relive the scene, prompting her to look behind him to see if there’s enough padding to protect him when he goes flying. The brand may be strong, but it’s not as strong as one of Yeoh’s front kicks.