Zhang Ziyi ([ʈʂáŋ tsɨ̀.ǐ]; Chinese: 章子怡; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is considered one of the Four Dan Actresses of China, and one of the best-known Asian actresses in the West.
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.
Absolutely not, because in acting I've found a domain that suits me perfectly. And that is so utterly rare.
For myself I don't like the geisha look. It's like a mask.
I was really interested in geishas' work, and wanted to meet real geishas.
Working in Hollywood, it's clear the more money you have, the more technology you can get. So you can build a whole Japanese set. Only in Hollywood!
There's nothing in Chinese culture that is an equivalent of the geisha. It's so different, so special to Japan.
I wanted to escape so badly. But of course I knew I couldn't just give up and leave school. It was only when I heard my mom's voice that I came out of my hiding place.
I want, through my roles, to express the parts in the hearts of Chinese women that they feel unable to let out.
Whatever you see - any good results - are all from the pressure.
Today's China is not in the least shut out from the rest of the world. Trends come to us from all over the world. And the Internet is really developed in China. We get news from all over the world.
Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes to clothes. We tend to show less flesh.
It's not that I wanted to be an actor; it's that I didn't want to be a dancer! I was trained in traditional Chinese dance, and after working so hard it seemed unfair to just disappear into a group.
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.
Actually I ran away from school when I was 13. No one could find me, and the police were called. I was just hiding in a little thicket of grass at my school, and went to sleep.
When two people first meet, they can only have a very ordinary kind of friendship. But when you begin to understand each other, when you get close to them, you discover that you're suddenly eager to know him or her even better.
Even though I've done Hollywood films, I still don't think of myself as a Hollywood actress.
My parents sent me to a dance class, so it was a road chosen by them, not me. But I enjoyed it so much I knew I would become a performer.