Michelle Yeoh has revealed why she wasn’t cast in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, after asking the director herself.

According to Tarantino, the 1992 action film Supercop, starring Yeoh and Jackie Chan, was a source of inspiration for Uma Thurman during filming on the 2003 martial arts film.

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The director also encouraged Yeoh to come out of retirement after she suffered an on-set injury filming 1996’s The Stunt Woman. “I must say, Quentin, he’s persistent,” Yeoh told Town & Country. “He is who he is today because he’s full of passion and love, so he wore me down.

“Suddenly we became animated. So then I thought, maybe I’m not ready to give up on this.”

Considering his admiration for her, Yeoh revealed that she asked the director why she wasn’t cast in Kill Bill. “I asked Quentin the same question,” Yeoh said.

“He’s very smart. He said, ‘Who would believe that Uma Thurman could kick your ass?’”

Kill Bill stars Thurman as Beatrix ‘the Bride’ Kiddo, who swears revenge on a team of assassins after they try to kill her at her wedding. A sequel, titled Kill Bill: Volume 2, was released in 2004.

Yeoh’s career has hit new heights following roles in Crazy Rich Asians, Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, and Everything Everywhere All At Once. The latter, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, has become the highest-grossing release ever for studio A24.

Her previous credits include James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and as Captain Philippa Georgiou in Star Trek: Discovery.

The actor is set to play Dr. Karina Mogue in Avatar: The Way Of Water, director James Cameron’s sequel to 2009’s Avatar. The film is scheduled to be released on December 16, 2022.