What attracted you to the screenplay for What's Cooking?

Actually, I was talking to Gurinder [Chadha, the director of the film] when she was in San Francisco. It was before I saw the script and we were at a conference for independent film financing and there was this independent film spirit. What she said seemed to be very wonderful and so I agreed before I read the script and then I read the script and I felt that I have lived in L.A. also and I felt the script is extremely L.A. from an outsiders point of view. It seemed to be more L.A. than L.A. natives can see. Also, I love the goodness in it. The film is full of goodness.

In What's Cooking? you play Trinh Nguyen, the mother of three children, two of whom are teenagers. I know the audience is accustomed to seeing you as a sex symbol. Was this a difficult switch for you to make?

No, being a sex symbol was hard. This [role] is the easy one.

Can you relate to the character you play in What's Cooking??

Always on some level we can relate to the characters we play. With this one, it's not that hard to relate. She has immigrated from another country and I too have and I'm also a mother, though my daughter is younger. I already now and then have the fear of her growing up so differently. There will be a big part of me that she will not understand and appreciate and I fear that she will not understand the Chinese language or the essence of the culture and therefore where she came from.

What is it like for you as a director and actor to switch back and forth from being behind to in front of the camera?

When it's not on the same set, I feel fine. It was nothing. I acted in this movie and then I went to New York and directed Autumn in New York. I think it is hard to imagine myself directing myself. Otherwise this is fine. I appreciate the chance to be just a child in the crew. Actors are really the children and not fully responsible for the whole movie. I just took care of my own part. In a way it was less stressful.

Can we talk about Xiu-Xiu [The Sent-Down Girl] ? Why was that an important film for you to make? It seems like an amazing feat for a first-time director given the Chinese government, the Tibetan climate, etc.

At the time I didn't realize why it was an important film. I just felt that I must proceed and I must get it done. In hindsight, of course, I needed to make it. It was a story about my generation, about a whole 10 years of our lives, and nobody really told it. And also visually, the Tibetan landscape was extremely suitable to tell that story as well as attain cinematic beauty and poignancy.... The movie was born to me while I was [in Tibet] and so I realized I must shoot it there.

It was shot without a permit, correct? Were you constantly aware of the penalties for being caught and dodging Chinese governmental officials?

Yes. It was an awful time. It was not a good feeling at all and I wouldn't suggest anybody do it. I wouldn't do it again because it's just too nerve-wracking every day and the consequences of being caught would have been great. It would have been very severe. But it didn't actually happen. I wasn't caught there. The risk was very big.

Are you still banned from the film industry in China?

Yes, but I intend to change that. I have to go to China to do that. You have to go and tell them what you did wrong and pay your fine and convince the government that you mean it.

Do you intend to work in the Chinese film industry again?

Not necessarily within the industry but I would love to go back and shoot some movies for the audience in the world, not just to do a Chinese movie for a Chinese audience. I want to go back to China to tell a Chinese story for the rest of the world.

You're one of the few actresses who has had prominent roles in both Asian and American films. How do the two industries differ?

I was not exotic when I was in China and obviously I've always been exotic since I've been here. That's the biggest difference for me as far as acting is concerned. I was a lot more normal when I was in China.

Do you think you were offered a larger variety of roles there because of that?

Yes. I mean, obviously I am a little exotic. I'm not complaining. Especially with that fact that I wasn't born here and I wasn't raised here, so there must be a lot about me that is exotic, so I'm not complaining.

Why do you think there are so few roles for Asian Americans in Hollywood? Do you think this is changing?

I think it will get better. I think the reason is probably that there is not enough of an Asian population in the entertainment industry. You have to have a huge number who want to be in the industry, who have the aspiration, and out of every few hundred people that fail, one person might succeed…. A big reason is that not enough people are trying. When I say trying, it takes huge determination because it is a very risky career. Most Asian families do not encourage it and that is probably one of the biggest reasons.

People shouldn't hire you because you are Asian or because there isn't enough diversity. People should hire you because you are extremely talented and you try really hard…. Diversity is never the key. What is going to sell you is that you have something special.

What are you working on next?

I have a few things that I'm preparing, but I don't know which one will get off the ground first. They are directing projects, because acting projects I cannot prepare. I go out on auditions and either they want me or they don't want me. For directing projects I can continue to read, continue to polish the script, raise the funds. It's less passive. For acting [roles] I wait for the opportunities to happen. I am trying to find next a role that is meaningful and right for me. So, I might write one for myself. I might just write and produce the next movie. It's hard for me to imagine both acting and directing.

Would you be interested in directing a film with an Asian-American focus?

It doesn't matter really. What matters is whether or not the script or the story compels me. Certain things do and certain things don't, but they don't necessarily have anything to do with ethnic background. There are a few stories that I am working on right now and one of them is Chinese American.


AsiaSource interview conducted by Michelle Caswell.