By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
It is a pleasure to welcome actress, fight choreographer, and professional stuntwoman Michelle Lee to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.
Born in Long Beach, California, Michelle moved to Taiwan right after birth and spent the first five years of her life with her grandmother, where she became fluent in Chinese. When she returned to the United States and Los Angeles County, Michelle experienced a big culture shock due to the language barrier and culture change. To get her out of her shell, Michelle’s mom pushed her to take acting classes, leading her to pursue work as a child actor.
While continuing her education, Michelle Lee took high school martial arts classes. After she graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles, Michelle auditioned for a role of a “fighter.” She booked the gig with her martial arts background and discovered she would fight alongside legendary actor Chow Yun-fat in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
From there, Michelle began booking stunt and fight work in various blockbuster films, and television series such as Bullet Train, the Last Airbender, Olympus Has Fallen, and Pacific Rim. Currently, Michelle Lee stars in Paramount+’s Blood & Treasure. The series is a high-stakes action adventure that centers around a brilliant antiquities expert and a cunning art thief collaborating to catch a ruthless terrorist who funds his attacks through stolen treasures. As they chase the terrorist around the world, they are in the center of a 2,000-year-old battle for “the cradle of civilization.”
In this edition of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Michelle Lee spoke about starring in both the DC Extended Universe (Suicide Squad) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Black Widow and Venom). She teased her character, Violet, and her role on Blood & Treasure.
