An Interview with Michelle Lee: How it all began, doing more central roles & other things

In the movie business, it has been a steady rise for an actor and stuntwoman like Michelle Charlene Lee. While, she has over two decades of experience in the entertainment industry, she has witnessed a steady rise from being behind-the-scenes to then having important characters in big films like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Venom, Bullet Train and many more.

Now, as Bullet Train is all set to have its satellite premiere on &Flix on 4th June, the actor sat with us in an exclusive conversation talking about how it all began, doing more central characters and other things.

So firstly let's let us just introduce you very, you know, shortly to the people of India who are probably, you know, not entirely aware. You are one of the biggest stunt women in the business, who is now getting more and more into acting. Of course, you've been acting all the for the past two decades as everybody does know, but I think with action and you know with the kind of contribution you've done to the stunt is fantastic. So I think that any people would love to know that, you know, what is the source of this inspiration? Where did it all start? How did this journey began to, you know, becoming what you are today?

Oh, thank you so much for the kind words. Well, I feel like everybody's journey and in this industry is a little bit different. I started, I actually grew up in Los Angeles and in the South Bay and and what everyone did as kids was just have headshots and auditions. It just it's just what you do. And so I had kind of kind of like a shy problem. My mom was like something's wrong with you. Every time someone talks to you you get so shy. You hide. You can't talk to people you know you have an issue. I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll just put you in like you know acting classes so you can get out of your your shell.

I think that's where it started. I went to kind of my first kind of acting classes and and and things when I was really young and I kind of saw how everyone was like free and got to do fun things and got to smile and laugh and be loud all the time and wasn't wasn't shushed by your parents, you know, and and got to express yourself. No matter how silly, how ridiculous it was, you got to do it. And so I kind of felt I loved that freedom. I loved that kind of understanding because I actually, I was born in the States, but I actually went to Taiwan for a bit. And so my first language was not English when I came back. 

So I actually did come back kind of like an immigrant, you know, like my first language was in English. And and they scared a lot of people, scared me because I was like, what are these people saying? I'm in a school that I have no idea. The culture is different, the food's different. You know, the language is different and so. That's what kind of put me in my shell. And then this is what kind of really brought me out. And so that was, I feel like my beginning and my start for the love of kind of feeling creative and free and expression with acting and films and TV shows and stuff.

ALSO READ: Taapsee Pannu Discusses Nepotism and the Unity Among Industry Insiders in a Recent Interview

Q. You know now that you know you've spent so much time in the industry and you've done so much. Do you feel that it is a lot more important for you to take acting a lot more seriously in the sense that you want to seek out characters which you know, have you playing the central figure or the character or the story centred around you or do you feel any of those things?

Oh, for sure. I would love to do characters that are more pivotal to the storyline. I get some really good little tidbit ones that are you know, like you said, still participates with the storyline but isn't the central. But yeah, I I think, you know, getting to express myself that way would be wonderful. I did a TV show called Blood and Treasure on Paramount plus season 2 and that one I got to really like you know be a series regular character. I had a storyline you know things happen in the end. I'm there. You know, stuff goes bananas and that that really got, I really got to express myself and really, you know, do everything that I feel like is me as an actor, you know, whether it's martial arts or the acting or you know, anything. So, so that one was a really fun one. But yeah, I definitely do.

More excerpts from the full interview with Michelle Lee will follow soon.

ALSO READ: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wanted to have a film legacy like Jaya Bachchan; old interview resurfaces