35 Inspirational Zhang Ziyi Quotes On Success

Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese actress. In the acting industry, her first major role was in The Road Home in 1999. She later gained international recognition for her role in Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. She has also appeared in most of the western films such as Rush Hour 2, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. From 2004 to 2010, Zhang ranked in the Top 5 of Forbes China Celebrity 100 list every year. In 2008, she was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution to Chinese Cinema award at the 11^th Shanghai International Film Festival. In 2013, she received the French Cultural Order at the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Her most recent appearance was in the J.J. Abrams-produced Netflix film The Cloverfield Paradox. In 2019 she starred in the film Godzilla: King of the Monsters, a sequel to the franchise reboot film Godzilla. May these Zhang Ziyi Quotes inspire you to take action so that you may live your dreams.

1. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

2. “I was really interested in geishas work, and wanted to meet real geishas.” Zhang Ziyi

3. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

4. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

5. “Whatever you see – any good results – are all from the pressure.” Zhang Ziyi

6. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

7. “From beginning to end I worried that Ang Lee wouldn’t be satisfied with my work. So I worked as hard as I could to earn his trust because you only get a chance like this once.” Zhang Ziyi

8. “For myself I don’t like the geisha look. It’s like a mask.” Zhang Ziyi

9. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

10. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

11. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

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

13. “I’ve discovered that I value simplicity above all in dressing. I don’t like anything I wear to be too complicated or fussy.” Zhang Ziyi

14. “Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes to clothes. We tend to show less flesh.” Zhang Ziyi

15. “There are actors who spend 20 years working and still don’t achieve what I’ve achieved so quickly. So I think my only course of action is to work as hard as I can, not just for the sake of the film, but also to prove to these people that I do have talent.” Zhang Ziyi

16. “I want, through my roles, to express the parts in the hearts of Chinese women that they feel unable to let out.” Zhang Ziyi

17. “Wanting to be in a Western film won’t get me very far. Unless the opportunity arose, it doesn’t matter how much I want to be in one. But if an opportunity did arise, no actor would pass it up.” Zhang Ziyi

18. “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!” Zhang Ziyi

19. “There’s nothing in Chinese culture that is an equivalent of the geisha. It’s so different, so special to Japan.” Zhang Ziyi

20. “A movie has its own fate, which often doesn’t depend on the performances of the director and actors.” Zhang Ziyi

21. “I never thought I’d be able to go to the White House and participate in an activity like this. It’s a great honor.” Zhang Ziyi

22. “Obviously I’d love to work with any of these great directors because every time I’ve worked with them I’ve gained a tremendous amount as an actor. Each director has his own way of pushing you towards improving yourself.” Zhang Ziyi

23. “I enjoy being an actress a lot because I can feel different women’s lives. I have the chance to feel like a geisha one day, and on another day maybe a scientist. That’s the interesting part for me. My profession has helped me to grow up.” Zhang Ziyi

24. “I knew nothing about martial arts. And I don’t really like it! But in the film, I not only had to pretend that I knew all about it, I had to be the best at it. That was very difficult.” Zhang Ziyi

25. “I am not stuck-up, as some articles say.” Zhang Ziyi

26. “People who trust me will not be swayed by what’s been said about me, and for people who don’t, no amount of good reports will persuade them.” Zhang Ziyi

27. “I don’t care if you love me or not. I’ll love you anyway.” Zhang Ziyi

28. “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 sol 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.” Zhang Ziyi

29. “From my opinion, ‘geisha’ means a woman skilled in the arts. Like dancing, singing and playing musical instruments.” Zhang Ziyi

30. “I’m not really interested in politics, because I think it’s just too removed from my own life. If there’s a war, though, or a disaster, I want to know what’s happening.” Zhang Ziyi

31. “In acting I’ve found a domain that suits me perfectly. And that is so utterly rare.” Zhang Ziyi

32. “I wanted to become a kindergarten teacher like my mother.” Zhang Ziyi

33. “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.” Zhang Ziyi

34. “I wanted to escape so badly. But of course I knew I couldn’t just give up and leave school.” Zhang Ziyi

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

I hope you enjoyed these Inspirational Zhang Ziyi Quotes On Success. Do let us know which one was your favorite in the comments section below.

Check Out Zhang Ziyi’s Interview Clip About Communicating The Right Emotions:

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