Ziyi Zhang

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.

There's nothing in Chinese culture that is an equivalent of the geisha. It's so different, so special to Japan.

I was really interested in geishas' work, and wanted to meet real geishas.

I was watching TV and saw people with masks, weapons, and grenades. I thought, Is that really possible? Could we be here yet again? And go into civil war one more time?

What I really wanted to know, though, was what it was like to be a geisha? Where do you sleep? What do you eat? How do you have your hair done?