It's a very obsessive profession that you need to stay obsessed to get anywhere, and it's very easy for us to get obsessed and then nothing else matters. I was reading Somerset Maugham's novella, Moon and Sixpense, about this artist based on Gauguin's life. It was so beautifully written. You must be first rate because second rate you might not survive. If you're an accountant, you'll survive second rate. If you chance it big, you may not get anywhere.

I miss directing. I see stories in images and music more so than in dialogue.

When you feel so strongly about something and other people feel equally strongly, you have to feel stronger about it in order to succeed.

I take class. I'm always ballet ready. I'm ready to go - got my tights and my shoes.

I don't want to tell people what I make. It's a lot more than I ever dreamed of as a kid. I never think about it.

For the past few years, I was the more visible Asian performer, and I think it gave young girls a kind of role model showing it's possible to actually reach success doing movies.

In my life I do look up to actors, at my age I ask myself, who else is playing interesting parts at my age which is very difficult for a female actor. On top of it, being a minority, having come from China makes it harder.