Actress Zhou Xun is having a moment

A photo shoot for a calendar proved to be a career-making moment for Zhou Xun. The resulting picture was spotted by mainland director Xie Tieli, who saw big-screen potential in her distinctive looks and impish smile, and tracked her down.

It was an astute piece of talent spotting that led to the offer of a movie part, the first step on a professional path that has seen Zhou, 38, notch up about 30 feature films to date, starting with that 1991 debut Old Grave and leading to her recent Hollywood foray in the genre-hopping Cloud Atlas, also starring Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry and Susan Sarandon.

The film has catapulted Zhou above her two main rivals, Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing, in the international name-recognition stakes, and ensures Zhang Ziyi has a potential rival as the Chinese actress of choice for high-profile Hollywood roles.

At the same time as Cloud Atlas - directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski of The Matrix fame, and German Tom Tykwer - started to create a major buzz, Zhou was achieving fame in the fashion world. Although far from a classical beauty and, by her own admission, not a slavish follower of fashion, Zhou was selected as a brand ambassador for Chanel, and photographed recently by design guru Karl Lagerfeld for the cover of Vogue China.

She is clearly relishing the chance to walk red carpets and hobnob with superstars. Only one aspect of the experience is proving a daunting task: succinctly explaining the plot, and purpose, of Cloud Atlas, which mixes action, drama and adventure, and hops, in a seemingly random fashion, between continents, centuries and characters.

Many viewers and critics have been baffled by the constant shifting of scenes and the chronological zigzags, while others have hailed it as a visionary work of genius. Zhou plays a man, a woman and a clone - tricky enough for any actor, let alone one working in a second language with Hollywood A-listers.