The role Angelina Jolie would only play on one condition: “That’s actually what happened”
Angelina Jolie is the true embodiment of grace and talent, exuding elegance in both real life and the characters she portrays on screen. She experienced a quick explosion to fame after her role in Girl, Interrupted, which led her to win the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress’ before shortly going on to reach commercial success after reprising the iconic role of Lara Croft. Jolie’s work spans many different genres and styles, playing real-life figures such as Gia Carangi and Maria Callas, as well as fairytale villains like Maleficent.
After decades in the industry, leading to some turbulent and challenging experiences due to extreme public scrutiny and press, the actor now maintains an aura of secrecy around her work, but has described her reasoning for starring in one of her most iconic roles.
Jolie has had somewhat of a renaissance this year, with a truly breathtaking and sincere performance in Maria, which follows the final days of the infamous opera singer Maria Callas. Pablo Larrain directed the film, which is the last in his trilogy of women. It focuses on historical figures such as Princess Diana and Jackie Kennedy, creating vivid and slightly suffocating portraits of their inner worlds and lack of compassion for their struggles.
Larrain pulls incredibly emotional performances from all of his actors, who have all been met with critical acclaim for their roles, but Jolie, in particular, stands out given all she has been through in her personal life and the haunting resemblance that she bares to her character. Both have been treated hugely unfairly by the men in their lives and the media, with intense and unkind headlines about their personal lives and reductive stories about their painful experiences.
However, while Jolie has been revered for her emotional and all-encompassing performance in Maria, she is most globally recognised for her portrayal of Lara Croft in the screen adaptation of the video game character. When discussing the success of this franchise recently, the actor shared an insight into the casting process and her reasoning for accepting the role.
Altogether, there are two Lara Croft movies in which Jolie stars in the lead role, with the first, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, being released in 2001 and the last, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, being released in 2003. When discussing the early process of signing onto this role, Jolie shared that she was ultimately convinced for two reasons, saying, “They said, ‘You can travel the world and train with the British military.’ And I said, ‘I will wear the shorts for the first five minutes and then I’ll never wear them again.’ And that’s true. And that’s the movie. That’s actually what happened.”
Jolie has always expressed her love for travel and ultimately, the decision to see the world while shooting a movie can’t be one that many would turn down. As well as this, it is important to feel as though you have an input into the character, whether that be the costume or script, something that Jolie wanted to explore and define on her own terms.
