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Eva Green - Biography |
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With an ethereal beauty and
emotional complexity, French actress Eva Green, who first wowed film
audiences with her sensuous performance in Bernardo’s Bertolucci’s "The
Dreamers" (2003), made the leap from European art-house film to the global
juggernaut known as the “James Bond Film.” After much public speculation,
Green landed the coveted role of Bond’s true love, Vesper Lynd, in the
series’ twenty-first installment, "Casino Royale."
Born on July 5, 1980 to her Swedish father, Walter, a dentist, and French
mother, Marlene Jobert, an actress, Green and her twin sister Joy were
raised in Paris. The shy, sensitive Green took an early interest in
acting, despite attempts by her mother to dissuade her from entering the
profession. Undeterred by Jobert’s concerns, Green attended the Eva St.
Paul Drama School in Paris for three years during her late teens, before
spending ten weeks at London’s Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts to
further pursue her acting dreams.
It was in 2002, while honing her craft at the Douglas Academy, that Green
came to the attention of director Bernardo Bertolucci, who saw in her the
elusive and mysterious qualities he was looking to display in his next
film, "The Dreamers." Green landed her first film role, that of Isabelle,
a young Parisian living in the politically active late 1960s who, along
with her twin brother, befriends an American and all bond over cinema and
ménage a trois. Though actor Jake Gyllenhaal, originally cast as the
American, dropped out of the film due to concerns over the frank
sexuality, Green was well aware of Bertolucci’s methods and his impressive
ability to find and showcase previously untapped talent in his films.
Diving freely into the role, Green, along with castmates Louis Garrel and
Michael Pitt, displayed an impressive honesty and was lauded for her
engaging performance.
In 2003, Green followed up "The Dreamers" with the filmed adaptation of
"Arsene Lupin," in which she played Clarisse, the long-suffering
girlfriend of the film’s titular hero. But it was the critical adulation
bestowed upon her following "The Dreamers" that provided the biggest
career push to date. Director Ridley Scott was so enamored by her
"Dreamers" role that he auditioned her for the lead in his epic Crusades
film, "Kingdom of Heaven." The grueling process amounted to almost half a
dozen screen tests, but Green ultimately won the part with only a week
before shooting was to begin in early 2004.
Green was immensely pleased with her role as Sibylla, the richly-written
sister of leprosy-afflicted King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), who marries
the menacing Guy de Lusignan (Martin Csokas), only to find herself
enchanted by Balian (Orlando Bloom), a blacksmith who finds his courage as
a knight. When the film was released in the spring of 2005, however, Green
was disheartened to find that Scott’s theatrical cut of the film had left
most of her dialogue on the cutting floor, drastically altering the role
to one of mere looks and mannerisms.
As 2005 came to a close, Green found herself the recipient of another
high-profile casting call, when Sony Pictures began the process of filling
out parts for its latest James Bond film. The studio decided to reinvent
the franchise, following the departure of longstanding Bond, Pierce
Brosnan. The new film hearkened back to the series’ roots by retackling
the first Ian Fleming novel, Casino Royale, first filmed in 1967 as a
comedy spoof. The casting choices also reflected this new direction with
the hiring of an unconventional choice as its newest Bond – hard-chiseled
blonde Englishman, Daniel Craig. For the coveted role of Bond’s love
interest, British Treasury agent Vesper Lynd, series producers Barbara
Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson sought to cast an actress whose onscreen
intensity could match that of Craig’s. After a serious search – one which
reportedly included such A-listers as Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie and
Thandie Newton – it was Green’s presence that impressed Broccoli and
Wilson. She landed the part of Lynd, placing her in a long lineage of
iconic Bond heroines. |
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Eva Green - Personal Quotes |
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[about shooting nude scenes
for The Dreamers (2003):] "I am a very shy person in life, very
reserved, but you know, it's Bertolucci. I've seen Last Tango and
it's not pornographic, it's not vulgar, it's not sick, so I trusted
him. He's a master of love and eroticism, but it's good because I
stopped being self-conscious. I felt like I was on drugs or
anaesthetised because you have to be. You have to let yourself slip
away and forget everything, forget the sound guy and all that."
[February 5, 2004]
[about the sex scenes in The Dreamers (2003):] "It must be very
shocking for the American people, but what I don't understand is why
they are so crazy about that. I don't understand why you can't see
naked people on screen but we can see a baby being killed. It's
quite strange. They're too puritan, too uptight." [February 5, 2004]
"It's a way to exteriorize all my shit. To scream and cry and laugh
on-screen, it's almost like black magic. You can do anything. I'm a
dreamer, so that's a good job for me. Onstage is the only place I
can fully express myself."
"For me, acting is like a therapy. I can express myself fully when I
am acting and have blood in my veins. Even when I'm not working, I'm
always living in my own world, imagining characters."
"At drama school I always picked the really evil roles. It's a great
way to deal with your everyday emotions."
"Onstage, every night you create something new. Plus, you have your
audience right there - it's like performing for the gods."
[About Sybilla, her character in Kingdom of Heaven (2005):] "Sybilla
suffers from numerous frustrations. She's an heroine, not a
"potiche".
"I am many things. I can be quite mad, and young, but I'm not the
kind of person who goes out to nightclubs and goes crazy. I am more
like lying on my bed and listening to classical music to relax."
"I have Algerian, Turkish, Swedish, Spanish blood: I feel like a
citizen of the world. Life and cinema don't have borders."
"I don't want to be a Hollywood star. I just want to do my job and
enjoy it. My aim is to find my true identity and to remain true to
myself."
I'd rather be thought as an international actress rather than a
French one. Because I don't know what's coming up for me, my
ambition is not to be typecast. So I'm working on my English accent,
as well as my American one. I don't want to be like 'Okay, I'm
French, and I want to succeed in Hollywood!' Juliette Binoche has
set a good example of what I want to do, because she works all over
the world, and that's what I want to do as well
I don't have a problem with someone having plastic surgery, but I
think it's crazy for everyone to have the same body
"I don't believe in awards. It's very good for the ego, I suppose." |
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Eva Green - Filmography |
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Franklyn (2008) .... Emilia
His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass (2007) .... Serafina Pekkala
... aka His Dark Materials: Northern Lights (UK)
Casino Royale (2006) .... Vesper Lynd
... aka Ian Fleming's Casino Royale (USA: complete title)
... aka James Bond 007 - Casino Royale (Germany)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) .... Sibylla
... aka Königreich der Himmel (Germany)
... aka Reino de los cielos, El (Spain)
Arsène Lupin (2004) .... Clarisse de Dreux-Soubise
... aka Arsenio Lupin (Italy)
The Dreamers (2003) .... Isabelle
... aka Innocents - The dreamers (France)
... aka Innocents, Les (France)
... aka The dreamers - I sognatori (Italy) |
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Eva Green - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Eva Green
YouTube: Eva Green
Eva Green at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
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