Several questions for Ziyi Zhang

Several questions for Ziyi Zhang

Several questions for Ziyi Zhang

(2006-2007学年第11期)

　　Talent and classic beauty propelled Ziyi Zhang to international stardom in such movies as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and last year’s Memoirs of a Geisha. As her latest film, Feng Xiaogang’s The Banquet, was premiering around the world, Zhang, 27, spoke with Time’s Steven Frank about upcoming movie roles, her dream job and the tribulations of shopping with her mom.

　　Do you feel you’ve been typecast9 by Hollywood?

　　Yes. I’ve turned down most of the scripts [I’ve been sent lately]. Once I did Rush Hour 2, I told myself I should move on. I’m sure I can act. After Memoirs, I became quite confident because I overcame my biggest obstacle: acting in a second language. I never thought that I could handle it. But after five months [working on the film], I thought: O.K., you did a pretty good job.

　　How do you handle the pressure of being so well known?

　　In Beijing, it’s fine. I still can go to the supermarket. I’m allowed to do all the things: buy vegetables, buy toilet paper. Still, I have to wear my baseball cap and sunglasses. I told my mom, when we go to the supermarket, please don’t call my name. She loves to shout my name. She says things like,“Ziyi! Come over here and look at this fresh fish,” and I say, “Just please don’t call my name. Call me Little Whatever, like Little Cat or Little Flower.” She says, “Yeah, yeah,yeah, I’ll remember, it’ll be fine.” And then she forgets again.

　　What’s your next film?

　　I have a lot of options in the English language, but I haven’t decided. I want to pick a kind of movie I’ve never tried. I’d like to play an American teen, a very modern, typical American girl with a very rebellious character. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, but I want to play someone who is really absurd. I think that would be so cool.

　　Do you have a love interest?

　　Yes. But [I keep it] very quiet. For instance, I don’t like to walk on the red carpet with my love. It’s not a Chinese thing. It’s not me. I want to just keep it quiet and enjoy my own life. I don’t want to show off.

　　Are you enjoying your life?

　　Yes. But, you know, one day if I found the right person I would love to get married and just stop doing all of this. That’s my biggest dream. I want to have my own family, a beautiful house and a few dogs and kids.

　　And you would give up acting?

　　Yes. This is not something that I really wanted from the very beginning. I never thought I could become a movie star or a famous person or even work in movies. And I think I should be able to do pretty well at other things. I really want to have a kindergarten of my own. I can be the best kindergarten teacher for the kids. That would be pretty fun.