Rebecca Frayn began working on the project after she and her husband, producer Andy Harries had visited Burma in the early 1990s.[15] Harries' production company Left Bank Pictures began development of the script in 2008. Harries wanted Michelle Yeoh as the lead and had the script sent to her.[15] The actress was thrilled because she had always wanted to play Suu Kyi.[16] She visited London to meet the couple.[17] The script was as British as its origin, telling the story solely from Michael Aris' perspective but Michelle Yeoh claimed she brought an Asian insight to it. Her husband Jean Todt (who later on also accompanied the project as accredited producer) encouraged her to contact his country fellowman and friend Luc Besson.[18][19][20] Besson accepted the script immediately as an opportunity for him to finally present a real life heroine, a female fighter who wields no other weapons than her