Zhang Ziyi

“חששתי כי עבודתי לא תשביע את רצונו של הבמאי, ולכן עבדתי קשה ככל שיכולתי כדי לזכות באמונו. כי הזדמנות כזאת מקבלים רק פעם אחת בחיים.”

“במשחק מצאתי משהו המתאים לי באופן מושלם, וזה נדיר לחלוטין.”

“אחרי שאלמד יותר אנגלית, אעבוד קשה ואעשה עוד סרטים.”

“האווירה בבית הספר הייתה מאוד תחרותית; נערות צעירות התחרו זו בזו בכל יום על מעמד ועל מנהיגות, ורצו למצוא חן בעיניהם של המורים. אך אני שנאתי זאת.”

“רציתי לברוח, אבל ידעתי שלא אוכל לעזוב את בית הספר, וכאשר אמי קראה בשמי, יצאתי ממקום מחבואי.”

“ברחתי מבית הספר כאשר הייתי בת שלוש־עשרה; איש לא היה מסוגל למצוא אותי והם קראו למשטרה. פשוט התחבאתי בין העשבים שליד בית הספר ונרדמתי.”

“The atmosphere at my school was very competitive. Young girls were competing with each other every day for status, for leadership, for the affection of the teachers. I hated it.”

“Yes. Otherwise I could have done a lot of Hollywood movies. After Crouching Tiger I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles - poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever. I know I have the ability to go deeper, to take on more original roles than that.”

“In China, we don't consider someone truly beautiful until we have known them for a long time, and we know what's underneath the skin.”

“When I watch a movie for the first few times I'm usually thinking about where I was in a given scene, who was next to me, what we were doing etc. But after I've gotten through all of this, when I'm really watching the film itself, then I get moved.”

“Most people spend their whole lives looking for the right job. There are others who never get an opportunity to do work that fulfils them.”

“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.”

“That whole environment was just incompatible with my beliefs and my personality. It was a dark time for me.”

“Even though I've done Hollywood films, I still don't think of myself as a Hollywood actress.”

“Ordinarily if an actor gets chosen for the lead in a film, he or she has already built up a repertoire, and everyone knows what he or she is capable of.”

“China's cinema has been rising for some time; it has more exposure, so my chances of becoming internationally known are better. But the first thing I have to do is learn English. If I can grasp the language, then perhaps I can think about the U.S.”

“My profession has helped me to grow up.”

“I suspect people always thought I had a boyfriend, so nobody came after me.”

“After I learn more English, I'll work hard and make more films.”

“There are films you see that only reach your eyes. Then there are films that you can watch... that reach down to your throat, or reach your heart. 'In the Mood for Love,' though, reached all the way to my belly.”