BL: Well, my father teaches music composition and my mother teaches comparative literature. So when I was a child, I learned an instrument. They asked us to play the violin and the pipa, the Chinese traditional five-thousand-year old instrument, the pipa is like a guitar. I played the instrument professionally. I sing \u2014 when I was in school, I already was singing. I didn\u2019t go to school much, but me and another girl were singing around the city or the country, just performing everywhere. So I always had something to do with music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then I started to do gymnastics and ballet, because my body is flexible. So my parents actually took me out of it, and they said they wanted me to be a professor or a doctor, or something more substantial, not a performer. I had to sneak out of the house to do the ballet and all of that. They said \u201cDon\u2019t do it.\u201d They asked me to stop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But finally, it\u2019s like, it\u2019s my fate. I can\u2019t escape. No matter how much I try, I still come back to the parts I\u2019m meant to work on. So I still come back as an actress. For learning an instrument, learning music, and literature because I read a lot of books, I have to thank my parents. And with nature, I nourish my soul. My soul actually is built with poetry, music, nature. And fun, I like to have fun. So my soul is formed that way.\u00a0 <\/span>A good actress needs all of these [things]. You have to nourish [yourself] inside. I think that\u2019s how it\u2019s my fate, I can\u2019t escape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: You lived in Tibet for three years before establishing yourself as an actress in China. One of your first movies was \u201cShining Arc\u201d. What made you decide to go to the United States? Was it because of censorship, or lack of opportunity in China?<\/strong><\/p>\n BL: Actually, my very first film is called \u201cOn the Beach\u201d [\u201cHai Tan\u201d, dir. Wengji Teng,1984], a Chinese movie. I was really, really good in that movie. And that movie at that time was selected by the Cannes Film Festival. But for whatever reason, it didn\u2019t go there, or wasn\u2019t allowed to, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My second movie was \u201cArc Light\u201d \u2014 \u201cShining Light\u201d [\u201cHu Guang\u201d, dir. Junzhao Zhang,1989]. In that one I played a mental patient, a very difficult role, very hard to play. I stayed in an actual mental hospital. I feel like I have a little mental problem, which is, I think, a little bit different from people, especially in Chinese culture. There, people think alike. If you think differently, you\u2019re not in the system. You\u2019re kind of an outsider.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: They ostracize you.<\/strong><\/p>\n BL: Yes. So I\u2019m kind of like that, always my personality is really different. That\u2019s why I say I landed from the moon. I feel like I\u2019m an alien. I feel like even though I was born in China, my soul is universal. So I feel there’s freedom, there\u2019s something I\u2019m missing and want to have. So more than I want something to fill my soul, instead I want to achieve something, I want to be an actress. These are less important. I feel the world is so big. I only know Chinese language, Chinese culture, and Chinese food. I want to know what the other world, the Western world, what it\u2019s like. It\u2019s more like a curiosity. My soul\u2019s curiosity led me to my journey.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So the transition is not like I purposely planned for a visit. I purposely planned to fulfill myself, to be joyful, living a joyful life. The second movie we mentioned, \u201cShining Arc\u201d, brought me to the Moscow International Film Festival. That film got selected, and I was so good in that movie playing a mental patient. Very dark, but very beautiful. She thinks a woman is different. Nobody understands her. She\u2019s always thinking there\u2019s a circle there, and eight. Eight, by the way, is my lucky number. Eight, because it\u2019s infinite \u2014 there\u2019s no beginning, no end.\u00a0 <\/span>So that film was selected for the Moscow film festival and I got there with the government. New York University, at that time, the head of the university was there and I got to meet them. Basically they gave me a scholarship and invited me to NYU film school as a visiting scholar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But I did not speak English. I had a scholarship at Lee Strasberg [Actors Studio] and I went to one class. I prepared for one play, \u201cThe Glass Menagerie\u201d [Tennessee Williams]. I memorized a monologue, and after I finished it the teacher said, \u201cYou are a master.\u201d I didn\u2019t understand \u201cmaster\u201d, I said \u201cWhat do you mean \u2018master\u2019?\u201d You\u2019re the master, so what is master? I looked in the dictionary. Finally I asked him \u201cWhat is master?\u201d He said \u201cMaster is you are great. You are a master.\u201d I said, \u201cIf I\u2019m a master, why would I study?\u201d So I quit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I tried to make money, working different jobs. Then a teacher said \u201cBai Ling, this scholarship is very expensive, and everybody wants to get into NYU. You have this scholarship. Either you show up to the class or you give it to somebody else. You don\u2019t show up\u201d \u2014 because I was tired of working. And also, if I\u2019m the \u201cmaster\u201d, why do I have to come? I actually gave it up. I said \u201cTake it to somebody else. I don\u2019t need it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Because I [knew] all I needed was English. As a performer, I\u2019m already a master.\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s why I started learning English and started auditioning. Every time I did not speak English, but I have this confidence also. Probably a lot of fans want to know how they follow their dream. You have to know who you are. I don\u2019t speak a language, that doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have the talent. I cannot [explain], but as Bai Ling, as a performer, I\u2019m still number one master.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean if you don\u2019t speak the language you become something different. So you have to understand, if you don\u2019t know your language you should work on your language. If you don\u2019t know how to dance, you can learn to dance. That doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t have the talent. That\u2019s something always in me. I love who I am. I know I am a great actress. So that gave me so much confidence that therefore I achieve what I achieve today. It means I enjoy doing what I do, I know what I\u2019m doing. The language I can pick up. The dance, too. Anybody can learn. It\u2019s not the talent \u2014 a child can learn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So I always [have known] who I am, because I found the joy of doing what I love to do. It\u2019s the joy that guides me. I\u2019m like a child. I\u2019m single, not married, because I like romance. It’s the most pure, most gentle, most delightful and exciting. If it\u2019s family, if it\u2019s wife, literally \u2014 especially for women, you\u2019re a nanny \u2014 taking care of husband, taking care of kids. That feels very heavy for me. If [you] take the romance away, I don\u2019t like that. I like to have romance. People say \u201cYou don\u2019t have\u00a0 <\/span>a husband\u201d but I have a boyfriend. Different boyfriends for different reasons, in different countries. How cool is that? Instead of just loving one man, doing all the service, it\u2019s just different.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Also, I learned that life is not about years or ageing. It\u2019s about that moment in life, what makes you happy. Actually the reward, whatever reward \u2014 you come to interview because I give something. So as a performer, whatever strikes people, they like what I do, then people come to my [performance]. It\u2019s something I give.\u00a0 <\/span>I always knew, when you have a talent to give, you will get what you\u2019re asking for.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>So those are my paths.\u00a0 <\/span>All those Playboy covers, also. There was an Asian [version]. Hugh [Hefner] asked me, I rejected it for three months. I said \u201cI don\u2019t want to. I don\u2019t want it.\u201d He said \u201cYou have to get Bai Ling. Do everything to get her.\u201d See? I said \u201cNo. This is the Western man\u2019s bible. When they\u2019re peeing in the bathroom, they\u2019re looking at a woman.\u201d They said \u201cHugh Hefner is very picky. He doesn\u2019t care about stars, but he wants somebody sexy in his \u00a0eyes.\u201d And all the stars want to be on Playboy covers but he doesn\u2019t care. He said \u201cBai Ling, it\u2019s an honor.\u201d \u201cReally?\u201d It took me three months to decide. But I still don\u2019t want to do it because my parents, my whole country, know me. Playboy is like porno class. I said \u201cOkay, I\u2019m going to ask [for] a lot of money, then they will say no. Then I\u2019m out.\u201d I asked [for] a lot of money, Hugh Hefner said \u201cWhatever she wants.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>I said shit, I should have asked for more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: You were in \u201cThe Crow\u201d [dir. Alex Proyas, 1994] with Brandon Lee. What was it like working with him?<\/strong><\/p>\n BL: Actually, that was my first English movie ever \u2014 my first Hollywood movie. I spoke English while doing the film. I was so bizarre \u2014 almost like, as I said, an alien \u2014 jumping into this set in Hollywood which I didn\u2019t understand. I didn\u2019t know anything about it. My role was such a substantial, good role.\u00a0 <\/span>Even Michael Wincott [who played Top Dollar] said \u201cOh, you cast the wrong girl.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Because at that time my sentence was \u201cMy English is poor. I come from China.\u201d And that was the ask I could say. But I looked [like a] very innocent girl, long hair, no makeup, dressed in jeans \u2014 like a girl. But when I put the costume on and everything, I walked out \u2014 and everybody was shocked. Suddenly I was transformed into this creature that had so much power. Everybody said \u201cWow! She\u2019s so different.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With Brandon Lee, they put us next to each other during makeup every day for two hours. He would teach me to play video games, and then he started talking to me. \u00a0 <\/span>After a few days, he said \u201cI heard you\u2019re Chinese.\u201d I said, \u201cYeah.\u201d He said \u201cI\u2019m Chinese.\u201d I said \u201cNo way, you\u2019re more handsome than a white guy.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>I didn\u2019t know, right? He was a handsome white guy. He said \u201cI am half Chinese.\u201d I said \u201cWho\u2019s Chinese?\u201d He said, \u201cMy father.\u201d I said \u201cWhat does your father do?\u201d He said \u201cMy father is a big movie star.\u201d I said \u201cOkay, what\u2019s his name?\u201d He said \u201cBruce Lee.\u201d I said \u201cI never heard of him.\u201d He said \u201cYou never heard of him? You probably are one of the only two people in the world who never heard of my father.\u201d I said \u201cReally? Bruce Lee, I really don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>So I felt bad, because he was disappointed. Then I called my friend in New York \u2014 actually I was in North Carolina \u2014 and I said \u201cThere\u2019s this actor working with me who said his father is a big star, Bruce Lee.\u00a0 <\/span>Do you know \u2014\u201c He said \u201cBai Ling! Yes!\u201d I said \u201cWhat\u2019s his name?\u201d He said \u201cLi Xiao Long\u201d \u2014 his name in Chinese. I knew little English, how do I know his English name, right? I didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Next day I said \u201cAhh, I know who your father is: Li Xiao Long.\u201d He was very proud of his father. He was. But also he didn\u2019t want to be the shadow of his father. He was struggling a little bit there. And he was so caring of me a little bit. I felt I reminded him a little of his father from China; not born here, didn\u2019t know anything here. He probably thought, this girl doesn\u2019t even know what she walked into. He was very caring of me, very kind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I feel like also because I\u2019m [in movies], I fall in love with movie[s] because the cinema can change time. No matter what happened to him \u2014 or us, all of us \u2014 that moment of capture in cinema will always be like that, always that moving image. See? We\u2019re changed \u2014 it\u2019s magic to capture that life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And also I learned something: I don\u2019t believe in death.\u00a0 <\/span>So even though he\u2019s not here, every time I talk about him, I feel his presence. I think our body is a house for our spiritual being to live. After eighty, whatever years, it\u2019s old or sick, the spirit jumps out. It\u2019s still alive, it\u2019s just the body is worn out. So I don\u2019t believe in death, therefore I can accept that he is not there in the same form as a human with us. But his spirit is here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q:\u00a0 <\/span>In the Nineties, there were a few films with an Asian cast, such as \u201cThe Joy Luck Club\u201d [dir. Wayne Wang, 1993]. What was the challenge that you faced back then as an Asian actress trying to get significant roles?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: The question is good. But because my mindset is different, my approach is totally different from a lot of people. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m trying to get anything, get any role. I don\u2019t think so. I believe we [receive] our talent [from] God, the universe, the higher being, who will guide you, to watch us. I\u2019m so pure, I give everything to what I do. Then I think that this is two, we\u2019re two, of the nature of the universe. These two are so pure, so good. They\u2019re going to give me stuff to do, to use my talents. I don\u2019t have to try, I don\u2019t have to fight. I don\u2019t have to wonder, I don\u2019t have to worry. Because everybody is part of this already. We just have to have faith.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What is faith? Something you don\u2019t see. But if you\u2019re actually trying to manipulate doing something, you\u2019ll be disappointed. On the way you\u2019ll be bitter because it\u2019s hard for a human life to comprehend to succeed. But if you trust your faith, it\u2019s all planned, God will take care of you. Things always work out. How human is that? You don\u2019t have to struggle, you just give everything you do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When I\u2019m acting, if the director looks at my eyes and says \u201cBai Ling, this is the 80th floor, you jump.\u201d \u201cIf you look at my eyes, it\u2019s safe. I am jumping now.\u201d That\u2019s how committed I am. With that energy, that power, that magic. Move it to another good movie. Just keep moving. Everybody had their break.\u00a0 <\/span>If it\u2019s not mine, I\u2019m happy for others. Mine will come. Your chance will come. You don\u2019t know when, you just have to do what you love to do. Give the best. For me, if I\u2019m going to deal one dollar versus needing a dollar, I\u2019m going to give you equally my talent. I don\u2019t give you half-ass because that depends on you keeping your personal good quality. You\u2019ll never lose yourself. No matter how much money you get, you give the same pure hundred percent of who you are. That\u2019s my suggestion. Find out what your talents are, give your hundred percent, you will be rewarded more than you dreamed of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: Regardless of the size of the role, you connect with each of the characters. Do you think it\u2019s more important for Asian actors to do that? Constance Wu suffered trauma after she shot to fame in \u201cCrazy Rich Asians\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: I kind of disagree about Asian actors and actresses creating what they do. Most of those actors are born here. They are not Asian, they look Asian. They\u2019re Americans. I came from Asia and I feel like I made my own mark like in \u201cRed Corner\u201d [dir. Jon Avnet, 1997] my first leading role with Richard Gere. All of them are in the community born here for so long. They got that chance, it\u2019s their community. I\u2019m sort of not included because I\u2019m not from here. This could be a perfect American accent could be a perfect accent for an American, I just look Asian. I\u2019m from a different country. I understand that. I don\u2019t fight for that because they cast whoever they want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And so if you\u2019re Asian and you got that role, you have to appreciate it. That\u2019s just my approach. Everyone wants to have the job. Well, you have the job. If you cannot take it, then you quit the job and let other people have it. This is the right approach. You cannot have the job and complain [all the time].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For me, [it\u2019s] a different approach: what is important and what is not important. We come in with nothing, we leave this world with nothing. Everything, all our achievements, are going to be gone. What\u2019s important? It\u2019s a moment in a journey. You are a great person whether you are a star or not. You are the star in your world. I am still the star in my world. When you have that, it will actually bring you the best roles, because of the power, the trusting. The difference [from] what you directly access from the universe: that innocence, that purity, that honesty, that appreciation of life itself. It\u2019s not all what you\u2019re achieving. Achieving something is fun, it\u2019s a game. But don\u2019t take it seriously to hurt you. I see a lot of people take drugs, kill themselves, because they didn\u2019t get the role, didn\u2019t get recognition. That\u2019s a waste of your life. Your life is so much more meaningful than that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ll give you another example.\u00a0 <\/span>I went to a big, expensive Beverly Hills party, expensive, for a children\u2019s charity. All the ladies \u2014 one ring, $7 million. Another ring, $8 million. One [pair of] earrings, $2 million. It\u2019s money you cannot even imagine. I don\u2019t wear any jewelry anymore because I feel like I\u2019m a wild animal and it\u2019s a trap. When I got there, they said \u201cHow do you feel here?\u201d My reasoning came out; I said \u201cI don\u2019t want to say something, I don\u2019t want to offend anybody.\u201d They said, \u201cSay it.\u201d I said \u201cLook at all these ladies. They compare themselves, they have to use a stone to [be approved], to measure their value. This is just a stone. It\u2019s a stone in nature. We gave them seven million [for the stone]. We can\u2019t give one penny. Ten billion, right? You are a live human being, so much more alive than a stone. You have made yourself like that and you use a stone to show how wealthy, how worthy you are. So stupid! You\u2019re a human! You\u2019re dynamic. The stone is for fun. Why do you lose your magic? You literally lose your life, you\u2019re living under that stone.\u201d<\/p>\n A lot of Asian people spend their whole year working to buy Louis Vuitton. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s not good. But your whole life to buy it. You don\u2019t enjoy it, you don\u2019t even want to use it. You use it to show other people to show other people you\u2019re important. You\u2019re missing life, your whole life is [about] trying to [get] the approval of others \u2014 and they don\u2019t even give a shit about you. Why are you doing that?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When I go to red carpet [events], I dress in anything, it\u2019s for me. The designer stylists [say] \u201cWhy don\u2019t you wear this?\u201d I say, \u201cI don\u2019t want it.\u201d They said \u201cDo you know how much \u2014\u201c I said \u201cDon\u2019t ever mention it.\u201d [They said] I look like an old lady. I don\u2019t want it. I don\u2019t give a shit. I\u2019m wearing what I feel comfortable in. I did it with Luc Besson \u2014 you should mention the movie \u201cTaxi 3\u201d [dir. G\u00e9rard Krawczyk, 2003. Besson wrote it.]\u00a0 <\/span>I was a leading lady, I learned French, which I did not speak. The leading lady for the number one director in France. The movie was number one at the box office. [Besson] said \u201cBai Ling, you go there, we\u2019re going to get you all these designers\u2019 dresses for you to wear.\u201d So I got there and when I tried them on, everything was big on me and I\u2019m skinny. I ended up wearing my own wardrobe in the movie. I said \u201cLook! Look what you see.\u201d He said \u201cBai Ling, it\u2019s not what you\u2019re wearing, it\u2019s how you wear it. Look at you, you look beautiful. Coco Chanel, it doesn\u2019t fit, it\u2019s too big.\u201d He was one of the biggest directors already. He didn\u2019t give a shit. He said \u201cBai Ling, look at you, compared to this lady wearing a designer outfit. You stand out more than her.\u201d They lost out on two names. The designer is great, but where are you?\u201d But on the red carpet, they always love me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You know, a big star, like Jennifer Lopez or whoever, wears Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, all of that. Where are you? You\u2019re a slave to this. For me, it\u2019s great, but I am Bai Ling, it\u2019s my world. I want to show myself. I\u2019m not a slave to this. I love them, but I\u2019m not a slave to it. We are slaves to all this baggage, especially Asian culture. You can be miserable, you\u2019re going to spend so much buying that name bag, you\u2019re still not going to be happy because you\u2019re bitter, and your light is not going to shine.\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019re not going to be attractive. You\u2019ll lose your charm, your beauty, because so many different things are happening to you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Look at me, making it this far. I did not marry a rich husband to support me. This should encourage young people. I made it without speaking the language. I did everything on my own, and I\u2019m proud of it. You don\u2019t need a rich husband. You don\u2019t need million-dollar clothes. For me, sometimes, I use my thousand-dollar coat. You don\u2019t even know this dress. Any dress you\u2019re wearing has less than two hours of life. The red carpet, I cannot repeat it. I have to buy a new one. What a waste, right? I feel like now I can wear anything if it\u2019s good, because after 45 minutes of life I change into another one. So we have to somehow break this social [demand] \u2014 because it\u2019s a habit on the self. They want you to buy. It\u2019s great, but you have to understand what\u2019s the purpose of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And also another thing I want to say. A lot of people say \u201cOh Hollywood has to change, there are no Asian roles\u201d \u2014 all of that. That\u2019s the reality. We have it in Japan, in Asia. Do all Japanese movies have a white girl leading role? There\u2019s no way! Right? They\u2019re all Japanese ladies because that\u2019s the market. It\u2019s a product. This Western world, the majority are white \u2014 or Black, [Latinx]. Asians are a minority. For anything Asian, who\u2019s going to watch a movie? That\u2019s just reality. Why do you fight that? You can\u2019t win. You. Can\u2019t. Win.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s like everywhere there\u2019s a Japanese restaurant, there\u2019s a Chinese restaurant. Who\u2019s going to eat it? What, are the white people going to [go] starving? Because it\u2019s their culture. If we have one we\u2019re trying to get more substantial roles, like \u201cRed Corner\u201d \u2014 a beautiful role: conservative, smart, intelligent, contemporary lawyer \u2014 it\u2019s a great role. But not every movie is going to have an Asian lead. Why do you have to fight for it? It\u2019s like you have to [hit] your head against a stone wall. You ignore the reality. \u00a0 <\/span>In Japan, how many white leading roles in Japanese movies? There\u2019s none. Only supporting little roles for whites, right? If they try to live in Japan, they\u2019d be miserable as actors. You can\u2019t find the big role for a white girl. The same here. It\u2019s so unrealistic and stupid to ask for that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: So it\u2019s important to acknowledge the reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: All the roles I played, a lot of roles, I was Asian \u2014 even \u201cCrank 2[: High Voltage\u201d, dir. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, 2009], \u201cWild Wild West\u201d [dir. Barry Sonnenfeld, 1999] too. All these roles I play, [they\u2019re] not written for Asians. I did not change the name. I was still a read-haired girl. A lot of [my] roles have nothing to do with Asians because they liked me and I played. So that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do: to get the roles not written for Asians. You can do them, but you have to know the reality. The majority of roles are for whites. Now they don\u2019t even consider, they just give me a role if I\u2019m good. So what we have to do is not [be] desperate to fight for anything. There\u2019s nothing to fight. We\u2019re at peace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You just do whatever as an actor. Show them as good performers, as Asian performers. Like me: I\u2019m a great actress. Even the best coach in Hollywood \u2014 after I did \u201cRed Corner\u201d, she said \u201cMeryl Streep is a master. Bai Ling is original.\u201d That\u2019s so much better, like I\u2019m so real, so powerful. So that\u2019s what you need to do. Do your best. And also, make your peace. White people, Black people, they all need jobs too. It\u2019s their country. We\u2019re here \u2014 I\u2019m appreciative that I even got a role here. \u201cWhy do I have to fight to get [a role]? I\u2019m better.\u201d \u2014 It\u2019s not about who\u2019s better. We\u2019re all good.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A lot of the second generation Asian Americans are bitter, because they\u2019re living in Chinatown, in the community that never gets to the white world. But for me, talk about racism against Asian races \u2014 I never felt that. Everywhere I go, the red carpet, they treat me like a princess. It\u2019s how they treat you. It\u2019s not like you\u2019re trying to get them to like you. You\u2019re already bitter, you\u2019re already against them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If I can work and I\u2019m open, who\u2019s going to get me? Look here: there\u2019s no Asian, just me. So if you\u2019re open to it, it\u2019s like what you give, you\u2019re going to get the same. If I love them, they\u2019ll invite me back. If I just say \u201cYou white guys, you don\u2019t give me roles\u201d, they\u2019re going to hate you, too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: It\u2019s best to have a positive attitude towards any job that you\u2019re offered, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n BL: You give the best. We all have a different journey, right? If you trust your journey, keep going. The gifts are going to come. You\u2019re going to get the role. Even if it\u2019s not what you wanted. With every little role, I\u2019m having so much fun. Even talking to you \u2014 this is our time to share with the audience. It might inspire them; so many people are lost.\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s our gift. When you have that, your life is joyful, your life is beautiful. You\u2019ll be happy if the best of you comes out. When your best\u00a0 <\/span>comes out, you attract the best. That\u2019s the key.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: Once you have this positive attitude, you also are showing it through your SNS, which I find is liberating for an actress to send a positive message through their SNS. So what\u2019s your philosophy about that?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: First of all, I appreciate life. My philosophy is to appreciate life. I really value and treasure this beautiful life. We\u2019re breathing. We\u2019re breathing, this heart is breathing, its blood is pumping. It\u2019s not going to be forever. It\u2019s so precious. I value that. I\u2019m in love with life. First,\u00a0 <\/span>All others are full. What I do for fun in this life. That\u2019s all a bonus. It\u2019s not that important, but how to value life. Find your core to appreciate every moment and live fully.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For example, I use a flower: I\u2019m a rose. We each have a rose. She\u2019s going to blossom, that\u2019s her nature. You put it in a corner in the garden, in a library, in a museum, and I\u2019m still going to do the same: I\u2019m going to blossom. You\u2019ll watch me or not, I\u2019m still going to blossom. It\u2019s my nature. I am there. It\u2019s not because you\u2019re watching me. Not because you like me. Not because you don\u2019t like me. Not because you notice me. I\u2019m nothing to do with anybody. This is mine. It\u2019s because I\u2019m going to blossom, not watching. I\u2019m going to dance, I\u2019m going to be happy.\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019re watching me dancing, being happy. I know my nature. This rose, if you see me, you smell me, you\u2019re lucky. You don\u2019t smell me, you don\u2019t see me, I\u2019m still going to blow my scent, my beautiful scent, my light. Wherever you see me, this is the beauty that nature created, and that\u2019s enough. When you\u2019re pure to that beautiful rose, everybody walks by. Everybody gives you a gift. Everyone wants to put you somewhere. See? Because it\u2019s not by you or anyone. Because you\u2019re loyal to the core of your soul. I\u2019m the rose. How can you not want it? I\u2019m not an Asian rose \u2014 I\u2019m the rose. You\u2019re going to pick it up to give as a gift. If I\u2019m beautiful, you\u2019re going to pick me up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not because I\u2019m this \u2014 No. I\u2019m a creature in the world. I see you, I see the \u2014 I don\u2019t even know what I look like when I\u2019m talking to you because I don\u2019t look at me. You look at me. For me, the world is a big family.\u00a0 <\/span>So I think it comes from [being] Asian. It comes from knowing. It comes from knowingly enjoying celebrating life, of who I am. Some people like me, some people don\u2019t like me, it doesn\u2019t matter. But I have to be loyal to myself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: You directed your first feature film, which is \u201cMy Quarantine Romance with Toilet Paper\u201d, which is an interesting title. What is the story about?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: You\u2019re so good to mention that. I also want to say \u2014 because you have a lot of fans inspired by your program \u2014 this movie is a comedy, but it\u2019s coming out of the most difficult time. What I want to say is, no matter how difficult those two years, most people had Covid at the beginning of the year. That\u2019s the worst thing in the whole world. But it had a birth \u2014 pregnant and had a birth at that time: my first feature film. And it\u2019s a beautiful thing. See? With all that, it still was born.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That means, everything \u2014 even if you\u2019re sick or something \u2014 there\u2019s always beauty. It depends on how you look at it. A lot of people get sick, they commit suicide or whatever. Look at me: I made a feature film. At that time I had no money, I had nobody to help because nobody would work. So I have no actors to direct and I can\u2019t pay. So I have no manuscript, nothing. I just had the idea. My friend says \u201cYou can sell the script for money. You have money, you don\u2019t have a script. I heard you wanted to make a feature film. How could you do it?\u201d My answer was \u201cBecause I\u2019m Bai Ling. Because I have the universe behind me. That\u2019s powerful.\u201d It\u2019s like people say, \u201cOh, what are you talking about?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s called \u201cfaith\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If I gave my script to a studio, there\u2019s two changes they never can make. I\u2019m the director, I\u2019m the writer, I\u2019m the casting director, I\u2019m the star, I\u2019m the composer. I composed eleven songs and music. Only Charlie Chaplin did it in all [film] history. No director or composer. And I play Charlie Chaplin in my movie. It\u2019s a story, making it simple. It\u2019s a quarantine romance about toilet paper. It\u2019s twelve guys who come to visit me, giving me toilet paper in exchange for sex and romance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: That\u2019s crazy, but it\u2019s interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: It\u2019s fast-paced. Like young people will answer the door, the roller-coaster might \u2014 all my team are very young. My editor is 24, they\u2019re all young. I said, \u201cI need to take pictures.\u201d So when they watched it, it was so funny. Because Covid is sad, I make it funny. It\u2019s a love story, basically. It\u2019s like Charlie Chaplin. Funny story \u2014 you laugh, you cry. It\u2019s something very powerful. It\u2019s my love letter to the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Q: Are you going to send this movie to some of the festivals?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n BL: Yeah, I\u2019m trying to. I just finished post-production. I did post-production, I\u2019m learning everything. So I do craft services, I\u2019m an art designer, everything. Now I know how to make films. I\u2019m going to start with the festivals. I feel like it\u2019s going to go viral. Because it\u2019s so contemporary, a current subject. Everybody experienced no toilet paper.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Bai-Ling4-504x1024.jpg\")
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