Address by Michelle Yeoh to Harvard Law School Class of 2023
May 24, 2023
Wow! What an introduction that was.
Good afternoon, and thank you, Dean Manning, Dean Ball, and Dean Bok for this rare and distinguished honor, and congratulations to the Class of 2023.
What an incredible day. Ladino Moore of an impressive academic journey. Congratulations as well to parents, partners, and family members of all the students here today. I can only imagine the pride and joy you must have to see your loved ones graduate from what I understand is the best law school in the country.
To the graduating cohort, I consider it a privilege to have been asked to speak to you as you are about to unleash yourself on the world. This moment conjures up the exciting image of a high diver poised to leap into the void. As you know, I am not a lawyer, I can’t even say that I have played one on the screen, so why am I here? Why have I been asked to deliver the keynote speech to you on this pivotal day in your lives as you dive headfirst into a presumably bright but unpredictable future?
Well, maybe the reason I’m here is because I happen to have some experience leaping off high purchase into scary voids, so do allow me to offer some simple pointers that I’ve picked up along the way in my career full of leaps and dives: how to survive the fall in three easy steps by Michelle Yeoh.
The first one is pretty obvious, but not always easy. Stay loose. My journey from Malaysia, IPO Malaysia, to the Academy Awards Siege began with my first love which was not acting but dance. I knew at a very young age that my gift was to communicate through movement. In my studies, I found freedom in discipline and focus. I trained tirelessly day and night, drilling my body in every aspect of the craft. More importantly, I trained in my mind to be still, to silence the whispers of self-doubt.
Dance was my safe place, my inevitable future, and my undeniable path, so I enrolled in Abolish school in England and began living my dream. Unfortunately, life had other plans. I suffered a spinal injury and just like that. I watched everything vanish into thin air. Life, as I knew it, was over.
With my dreams of dance crushed, I credit[ed] the principal of my school for giving me the encouragement that ultimately led me to a career beyond my imagination. It was she who encouraged me to stay loose about my future. When falling, the tendency is to tighten up, to brace for impact. But in truth, the safest thing one can do is remain calm, even curious, about the shifting world around you.
After graduating with a degree in creative arts, I returned home more open to other possibilities outside the box. With this awareness came the freedom to make choices I might not have otherwise been able to. This opened the door to doing a commercial in Hong Kong, then to acting roles and the start of my life in film, which leads me to my second piece of advice: know your limits.
Although understanding what you can do is essential, understanding what you can’t do is pretty important, too. This works on two levels – both internally and externally. Internally, knowing your limits keep you humble, motivated, and focused on a goal to point your finger toward. Externally, knowing the limits that are set for you by others give you a place to point a different finger. I am talking about the middle one. In other words, limitations set by yourself gives you boundaries to respect, but limitations set by others gives you boundaries to bust through.
As a young woman trying to break into a film in Hong Kong, I was confronted with limitations at every turn. Initially, cast in stereotypical roles, the demure, docile, damsel in distress, I soon realized that what I wanted to play were the action roles: The Heroes. Of course, these were then reserved exclusively for men, but I could see that the outfight sequences were highly choreographed, and I knew in my bones that my dance training would allow me to excel at them if only I were given the chance. So I went to my producer and said, I did say, “please, I want an action role.” I was prepared to do everything the men were doing, the choreography, the son’s checking the blows, the wire work, all of it. What, like it’s hard? But when the chance finally came, I knew it was make-or-break. I had a one-shot to prove my bankability as an action star and if I failed, I would not get that opportunity again. So I seized the moment with everything I had and as it turned out, thankfully, audiences were more than ready for a female star in action comedies. The film, “Yes Madam,” was well received and launched my career.
I knew I had it made it then, when I, soon after, I joined Jet Li and Jackie Chan as the three people who Hong Kong insurers refused to cover. They took one look at the scenes we were shooting and ran for the hills. I wore that as a badge of honor. Eventually, things progressed, and before I knew it, I was regularly running on rooftops, riding motorcycles onto moving trains, and rolling off vans onto oncoming traffic. Don’t try that at home, OK? There were injuries, as you can imagine, but with every nick and scratch, and bruise, and fractured vertebrae, I came back better and braver.
Learning how to fall teaches you how to land, and learning to land gives you the courage to jump higher. So when the James Bond producers knocked on my door about a film called “Tomorrow Never Dies,” I thought: “Yes, they want me to play James Bond!” I was fortunate that the producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson had a substantial role in mind in the character of Whalen, a formidable agent who was always one step of her adversaries and equal to Bond. Many regard that character as instrumental in modernizing the franchise and its retro-grade portrayals of women. So thank you, Barbara and Michael.
Although offers came in after the Bond movie, I waited two years for the proper role, rejecting s that lacked nuance or depth in their character. Honestly, there were times I had doubts as to whether I was doing the right thing in waiting. After all, actors want to act. However, I knew I would not be happy unless I continue to seek out roles that allowed me and like-minded creatives to dig deeper and reflect three-dimensional humanity on stage. And that was “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. So I must have done something right because I am busier than ever.
These examples illustrate the importance of limitations. Because our limitations become our challenges and there is nothing like a challenge to keep you working, striving, and pushing for more. Every demeaning role I was offered, every rejection I was handed, and every time someone underestimated me, I found energy and renewed motivation. This brings me to the third and final tip: find your people.
Life is not always a zero-sum game. For every winner, that doesn’t have to be a loser. In fact, most success stories are less about competition and more about collaboration. The truth is, I could not have done any of this alone. My achievements are the results of those around me who offered and continue to offer support and belief. There are times where as much as I don’t want to let myself down, I don’t want to let them down even more.
My definition of community is vast, including my family, loved ones, and friends. But it also includes the other actors, directors, producers, some people, film crews, dancers, musicians, and artists with whom I’ve crossed paths. My community transcends time, in the sense that I stand on the shoulders of those who have come before me and I am energized and inspired by those who come after me. My community extends beyond people I know personally, which is why representation matters and why diversity on and off the screen have been a major priority for me, particularly for women, and particularly in lead roles. When we shine a light on the rich and varied world around us, we empower the whole of our humanity. I can see no better reason to wake up in the morning and get to work.
Lastly, my community is not limited to the film industry. In my work as UNDP Goodwill Ambassador, I have witnessed the deep inequalities that continue to plague societies around the world and I have seen up close how women and girls are often the last to get essential services like clean water and vaccines, especially in crisis. For this reason, I have committed myself in walking in lockstep with their struggle.
The prerequisite… the prerequisite to change is empathy. Seeing through other people’s perspective activates our compassion, which becomes the driving force for real-world demonstrable action. Compassion is the ultimate superpower within us. When you are leaping without a safety net, people become your safety net and you become theirs.
So those are my tips: stay loose, know your limits, and find your people. But I want to conclude by speaking briefly about that little movie that could – “Everything, Everywhere All at Once”. This was a film that in many ways brings together all the insights I have shared with you today. It defied genre, playing loose with free expectations and defining categorization. It flouted limitation by taking a smaller budget and turning it into an international phenomenon. And it brought together a community of creative and talented individuals, working with a common passion to tell a universal human story. This was some, wow, I’m creating waves as I can see. This was a movie made entirely with love that was in many ways the culmination of my life’s work, and the reverberations of that love continue to be felt as “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” has caused a tectonic shift in the industry, opening the door to more independent efforts and greater Asian representation. When I think of a glorious leap into an unknown void, I think of that movie.
So Class of 2023, this is my offering to you. Today, you graduate and today, you leap. Stay loose, be smart, and go with love and then leap, and then leap again and leap again. I look forward to living in the world you’ll all help build and I am honored to have been one small voice at the beginning of your journey.
Thank you all, and I wish you every success. Happy graduation!
哇！多么精彩的开场白。
下午好，感谢曼宁院长、鲍尔院长和博克院长授予我这个难得而又尊贵的荣誉，并祝贺2023届毕业生。
今天真是不可思议的一天。拉迪诺·摩尔经历了一段令人印象深刻的学术之旅。也祝贺今天在场的所有学生的父母、伴侣和家人。我可以想象到您看到自己的亲人从全国最好的法学院毕业时的自豪和喜悦。
对于毕业生们来说，我认为能被邀请在你们即将进入这个世界的关键时刻发表演讲是一种特权。这一刻让人想起一个高空跳水运动员准备跃入虚空的激动人心的画面。正如你们所知道的，我不是律师，甚至不能说我在荧幕上扮演过律师，那么我为什么在这里？为什么被邀请在你们人生中这个关键的日子发表主题演讲，当你们头朝下跳入一个光明但不可预测的未来？
嗯，也许我在这里的原因是因为我碰巧有一些从高处跳入可怕虚空的经验，所以请允许我提供一些简单的指导，这些都是我在职业生涯中从跳跃和潜水中学到的经验：由葉璇教你如何用三个简单步骤在跌落中存活。
第一个步骤非常明显，但并不总是容易。保持松弛。我的旅程从马来西亚、马来西亚国际贸易促进局到奥斯卡围城始于我的第一个爱好，而不是演戏，而是舞蹈。我很小就知道我的天赋是通过动作来传达信息。在我的学习中，我在纪律和专注中找到了自由。我日夜不停地训练，钻研我的技艺的各个方面。更重要的是，我训练自己的思维保持安静，消除自我怀疑的声音。
舞蹈是我的安全之地，我的必然未来和不可否认的道路，所以我报名参加英国阿伯特舞蹈学校开始实现我的梦想。不幸的是，生活有其他计划。我遭受了脊椎损伤，就这样看着一切消失得无影无踪。我所知道的生活已经结束了。
当我的舞蹈梦想破灭时，我要感谢我的校长给了我鼓励，最终让我有了一个超乎想象的职业生涯。正是她鼓励我对未来保持松散态度。当摔倒时，人们往往会紧张起来，为撞击做好准备。但事实上，最安全的做法是保持冷静，甚至对周围不断变化的世界产生好奇心。
获得创意艺术学位后，我回到家乡更加开放地看待盒外的其他可能性。这种意识带来了选择自由，否则我可能无法做出这样的选择。这为我打开了在香港拍摄商业广告、扮演角色和开始我的电影生涯之门，这也引出了我的第二个建议：了解自己的极限。
虽然了解你能做什么很重要，但了解你不能做什么也很重要。这在两个层面上起作用——内部和外部。内部方面，知道自己的极限能使你保持谦卑、积极，并专注于指向目标的目标。外部方面，了解别人给你设定的限制可以让你指向不同的地方。我说的是中指。换句话说，自己设定的限制让你尊重界限，而别人设定的限制让你突破界限。
作为一名试图打入香港电影圈的年轻女性，我面临着各种限制。最初被分配到刻板印象中的角色——温顺、温顺、陷入困境的女性——我很快意识到我想扮演的是动作角色：英雄。当然，这些角色当时仅保留给男性，但我能看到战斗场面高度编排，并且如果有机会，我知道我的舞蹈训练将使我在其中表现出色。所以我去找制片人说，“请给我一个动作角色。” 我准备做男人们所做的一切——编排、检查动作、练习绳索等等。像这样难吗？但当机会终于来临时，我知道这是成败关键。我有一次机会证明自己是一个动作明星，并且如果失败了，我将再也没有机