Irrespective of the critical reception of her movies, Gong Li has repeatedly risen above them to leave an indelible impression on her audience. Edmund Lee talks to the actress about dumping Chow Yun-fat in Shanghai, her Achilles’ heel and being China’s greatest movie star

Gong Li has starred in an eclectic roster of movies since her debut performance in Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at the 1988 Berlin Film Festival, and to this day nobody has figured out a dramatic role that the actress would look genuinely bad in. Fresh from filming a Chinese remake of What Women Want alongside Andy Lau, the actress speaks to us about her enthralling turn in the romantic thriller Shanghai, in which she’s torn between the attention of secret agent John Cusack and gangster husband Chow Yun-fat.

With Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) and Shanghai, you’ve now ditched Chow Yun-fat two times in a row.
Poor thing! [Laughs] I dumped him last time because [his emperor character] was plotting against me, so I had no choice but to dethrone him. This time, he’s having so many wives and mistresses, and I’ve been turning a blind eye to that. I’m being very generous already. [Laughs] The characters I play are often women involved in some psychological battles, and I think it’s a lot of fun to play them. I find these human emotions very interesting.

When I was watching Shanghai, Chow’s image reminded me a lot of those 80s movies that he starred in…
And [legendary Hong Kong television series] The Bund!

Did you watch those back in the day?
Yes, definitely. I’ve even watched The Bund.

Did his image in Shanghai remind you of those?
Call it The Old Bund. [Laughs] Yes, he has that charisma about him. Although his character [in Shanghai] starts out doing business with the Japanese [occupiers], he does everything to protect his woman at the end. He’s the type of character that makes women feel protected.

You’ve appeared in several Hollywood films in the past few years, from Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) to Miami Vice (2006) and Hannibal Rising (2007). How different is it to film there than it is in China?
It’s obvious that Hollywood has a very comprehensive system: their institutions and regulations make it very easy to work there. You only need to turn up and play your character well. On the other hand, nowadays there are many young people in China who are very enthusiastic about movies. They’re bringing in a lot of global elements, and not just local ingredients – this is no longer the Red Sorghum era. [Laughs] You can’t keep on making movies for certain regions [in China].

Do you have any particular roles in mind that you are desperate to play?
There are a few. I want to play a criminal, for example, because I want to explore a criminal’s mindset. It is actually quite hard to decipher the psychological aspects of people.

Maybe you can play a killer.
[Laughs] A killer! No problem.

You may as well do it in the next Hannibal movie. They can always use a sequel.
That’s good, to finally figure out what’s going on [in the killer’s mind]! I think it’s not a problem for me to participate in these movies, but it’s vital that I have a good script, a good director to utilise – and not bury – my talent.

Is there any character that you find particularly difficult to play?
I think I can play any character. But the most important thing is that I don’t want to repeat myself. If I’ve played a character before, I’d prefer not to play another similar one. There’s one other thing that I like a lot, but find it very difficult to do: comedies.

Is that why you’ve done so little on the comedy front since you starred opposite Stephen Chow in 1993’s Flirting Scholar?
The truth is that nobody has approached me [for a comedy role]. They seem to think that I’m all for great tragedies. [Laughs] And I also think it’s a difficult thing to do comedies. You have to use your personality to make the audience laugh, and not just your face. And it takes a good script too. So I’d say this: don’t take up a comedy [project] lightly. If it’s done badly, it’s going to be a disaster.

This may sound absurd, but how does it feel to be China’s greatest movie star?
Actually, when I’m not in a shoot, not at a film festival, or not doing interviews, I don’t feel that I’m an actress. My profession is in acting – it’s not like I’m doing anything else. But when I see the many films that I’ve done… I recognise my responsibility. I know I have many audiences, and they have high expectations on me. I don’t want to disappoint them, being the best Chinese actress in their opinion. This is my sense of responsibility. But outside of the time at work, I see myself as an ordinary person. I won’t give myself extra pressure.

Speaking of doing interviews, what has been the most frequently asked question?
I’m most frequently asked about… [Laughs] my private matters – personal questions that have absolutely nothing to do with the interview objectives. But then I think there is also quite a diversity. For instance, there are also many proper media in Mainland China that are more positive with their concern, [focusing on] your feelings towards the movie characters, the films, and so on. As for Europe and America, they basically don’t talk about your personal problems: if you want to share it, you may do so; if not, they feel impolite asking you. They never ask me personal questions and they show me a lot of respect. As for Hong Kong and Taiwan… [Laughs] they love to ask private questions. But come to think of it, if the matter is private, I’m not going to tell them anything anyway, right? [Laughs] I’m not willing to talk about it; and even if I did, it’s not going to be true. So there’s a lot of guessing in their coverage. They’re guessing: [Gong Li] was not happy when she said this, so it must be true!

Do you sometimes watch your own films?
I regularly watch them. [Laughs] As a revision: this one is pretty good, that one is not so much. Sometimes I’d feel that I did exceptionally well in a role, and I probably can’t repeat that performance today.

I’m asking this because I’ve known quite a few actors who are afraid of watching their own performances.
For me, from my first film Red Sorghum to the current one, I never looked at the replay on the set. Not a single glimpse – ever. Some people think that it’s better to have a look, but I’ve never had that habit.

So you only watch yourself after the films are wrapped up?
After filming, I’ll watch it at the premiere. I like to see it with the audience; I never watch on my own. But of course, I’m especially concerned about the [scenes] that I’m in: I’d tell [the director] he should’ve given a particular shot two more seconds, to flesh out the character even more. If I’m not a serious actress, how could I remember all those specifics?

Will you direct some day?
No, I won’t. I believe that if a person is so confident as to think that he can do everything well – from acting to writing and directing – he is definitely not going to do anything well. So I’ll never be a director or a scriptwriter. I’ll stay grounded and work hard as an actress.

Shanghai is in cinemas now.