Absolutely not, because in acting I`ve found a domain that suits me perfectly. And that is so utterly rare.

Men are different. When they are in love they may also have other girlfriends.

Zhang Yimou is always going to need young, pretty girls for his films. But I don`t really concern myself with what Zhang Yimou`s next starlet looks like.

Ordinarily if an actor gets chosen for the lead in a film, he or she has already built up a repertoire, and everyone knows what he or she is capable of.

There was one very special scene at the end of the film. My character, Zhao Di, has been sick. She wakes up and her mother tells her that the man she loves has come back from the city and had spent the day by her bedside.

That whole environment was just incompatible with my beliefs and my personality. It was a dark time for me.

For Western women, it`s much easier to be yourself. If you want to do something, you just go and do it. In an Asian context, women are still much more modest and conservative. I want, through my roles, to express the parts in the hearts of Chinese women that they feel unable to let out.

Today`s China is not in the least shut out from the rest of the world. Trends come to us from all over the world. And the Internet is really developed in China. We get news from all over the world.

After Crouching Tiger (Wo hu cang long (2000)), there was a big change for me, with all the attention thrust upon me. I got lot of work: my first Hollywood film, Rush Hour 2 (2001), and a lot of advertisements in Asia. I think for me it`s a very good part of my life. I`ve been lucky, because I`ve had great characters to play. Now I really want to work with good directors.

When two people first meet, they can only have a very ordinary kind of friendship. But when you begin to understand each other, when you get close to them, you discover that you`re suddenly eager to know him or her even better.

But I enjoy being an actress a lot, because I can feel different women`s lives. I have the chance to feel like a geisha one day, and on another day maybe a scientist. That`s the interesting part for me. My profession has helped me to grow up.

They`re not willing to admit that I`ve also shed blood and tears and often paid dearly for my success. This makes me feel extremely sad.

Obviously I`d love to work with any of these great directors because every time I`ve worked with them I`ve gained a tremendous amount as an actor. Each director has his own way of pushing you towards improving yourself.

There`s a possibility that I might work with Wong Kar-wai next year. I`ve heard that he has a Japanese novel that he wants to turn into a film.

Even though I`ve done Hollywood films, I still don`t think of myself as a Hollywood actress.

There are actors who spend 20 years working and still don`t achieve what I`ve achieved so quickly. So I think my only course of action is to work as hard as I can, not just for the sake of the film, but also to prove to these people that I do have talent.

I`m not really interested in politics, because I think it`s just too removed from my own life. If there`s a war, though, or a disaster, I want to know what`s happening.

I always think it`s really hard if you are Asian or Chinese to be really in Hollywood. There are not so many really great characters for you. I always think you are lucky to get offered [something like] `Memoirs of a Geisha`, but I don`t think it will happen all the time.

I`ve discovered that I value simplicity above all in dressing. I don`t like anything I wear to be too complicated or fussy.

The atmosphere at my school was very competitive. Young girls were competing with each other every day for status, for leadership, for the affection of the teachers. I hated it.

From beginning to end I worried that Ang Lee wouldn`t be satisfied with my work. So I worked as hard as I could to earn his trust, because you only get a chance like this once.

We`re still working out the details, but I`d be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting on this film has been extended by a month, but I need to be in the U.S. by Dec. 20.

There are films you see that only reach your eyes. Then there are films that you can watch... that reach down to your throat, or reach your heart. "In the Mood for Love," though, reached all the way to my belly.

Most people spend their whole lives looking for the right job. There are others who never get an opportunity to do work that fulfils them.

Actually I ran away from school when I was 13. No one could find me, and the police were called. I was just hiding in a little thicket of grass at my school, and went to sleep.

After I learn more English, I`ll work hard and make more films.

In China, we don`t consider someone truly beautiful until we have known them for a long time, and we know what`s underneath the skin.

It was so hard working for him, but I like the challenge. We don`t learn the script, every day we had to, erm ... improvise. [on working with Wong Kar-wai in `2046`]

Wanting to be in a Western film won`t get me very far. Unless the opportunity arose, it doesn`t matter how much I want to be in one. But if an opportunity did arise, no actor would pass it up.

Working in Hollywood, it`s clear the more money you have, the more technology you can get. So you can build a whole Japanese set. Only in Hollywood! I couldn`t believe the first day I walked on the set. Rob Marshall walked me like a tourist round the set. It took 40 minutes, so how big was that? Today it can be winter, and tomorrow summer. Everything`s unbelievable.

When I watch a movie for the first few times I`m usually thinking about where I was in a given scene, who was next to me, what we were doing etc. But after I`ve gotten through all of this, when I`m really watching the film itself, then I get moved.

I wanted to escape so badly. But of course I knew I couldn`t just give up and leave school. It was only when I heard my mom`s voice that I came out of my hiding place.

Chinese women are much more modest than American women when it comes to clothes. We tend to show less flesh.

It`s my first time in a lead and I have to speak English! In a Japanese accent! [on Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)].

I don`t like kick-ass stereotypical roles. I already turn a lot down, even when they promise me a lot of money. I really want to do something in Europe. With a small movie, it can be an interesting challenge. But I have to get the right project. I don`t think it`s so important to go to Hollywood. All that trash that comes out of there! I don`t want to do that.

They just don`t endorse or support their own movies and their own actors. Is it because they don`t understand the movie? This issue really baffles me.

I think they`d say they like my personality, because I`ve got a northern Chinese personality. I`m pretty impulsive and act on my feelings.

You know, I never think I can become an actress. But it happened. Not because I dreamed it, but because it happened.