Ziyi Quotes

Hero (2002) was the first time I had ever worked on a mainland Chinese production. It was great to work with such a good cast that included Maggie, Jet Li, Chen Daoming, and Zhang Ziyi. I was particularly excited to work with Yimou, a director whose work I have always admired. When I first heard the story, I thought of Kurosawa`s Rashomon (1950). At that time, Yimou gave me a choice of playing the narrator, like Leslie Cheung did in Ashes of Time (1994). In the end, I did what Yimou wanted and played Broken Sword, who is the lover of Flying Snow, played by Maggie. Because I have a baby face, I was quite concerned about my looks in this film because I was to play a martial arts hero. I did not want to look unconvincing. I spent a lot of time working with Emi Wada, who designed all the film`s costumes, on the look of my character, as the wardrobe was very important to play this heroic figure living in ancient China.(On working with Zhang Yimou in the movie, Hero)

(Whereas Jing is girlish devotion personified, Ziyi Zhang is the epitome of forced flirtation as the prostitute Bai. When she falls in love with her drinking pal Chow, they both pretend it`s a simple transaction, even as their passion rocks the hotel and lights up the screen. Zhang, who has Westernized the word order of her name since) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, ... Hero.