Quotes

What I want is the same opportunities as anyone to get a part.

I'm trying to show I'm a trained actress--I can transform myself into different characters. I'm not just an ingenue.

I'm as proud to be Chinese as I am American.

I'm not one of those actresses that's going to feel like I never achieved my dreams and goals and just get disgruntled and hate everything about the business. I've had so much fun.

[in 2014 on The Arsenio Hall Show (2013), about her film Street Fighter (1994)] It's a good movie, if you're drunk.

I hope Hong Kong and Asia wants to hire American Asian actresses as much as Hollywood has been hiring Chinese actors from Asia. So hopefully in reverse, yes, I would love to work with Zhang Yimou and all those wonderful directors out there.

[on voicing Mulan] That was my first voiceover job ever, and I knew nothing about the process. But I loved the challenge of bringing a character to life just using my voice and my imagination.

I think maybe Mulan is one of Agent May's ancestors or something. They're both definitely women warriors. I think what's fantastic is that after two decades I'm still able to play these kick-butt characters, and it's such an honor.

[on the twenty year retrospect of the film Mulan] I am ecstatic to have played a character with such long-lasting influence. Mulan is a role model not just for little girls but little boys, too. And for adults! I love it when the moms bring their kids to meet me. They tell me what an impact Mulan has been in their lives, and now, in their kids' lives as well. It's the magic of Disney to be able to translate a Chinese story and make it relatable to everyone for all generations.

[on how she got the role of Chun-Li for the Street Fighter film] Is the antithesis of June in 'The Joy Luck Club.' I had to convince [writer-director] Steven de Souza and [producer] Ed Pressman--they couldn't see me as this tough, aggressive fighter. I started doing [martial arts] kicks in Pressman's office. That got his attention.

[on describing the work out sessions she had to endure in order for her to portray Chun-Li in the Street Fighter film] Really intense, especially the three weeks before the film.

[on describing her Street Fighter co-star Jean-Claude Van Damme] He's very intelligent, and very charismatic, and of course he's a big flirt. But he's a fun flirt.