Sexy Hot Beauty

Eva Green’s Envious Role

Source: Edward Douglas
November 14, 2006

The first time moviegoers became aware of 26-year-old French actress Eva Green, it was due to her racy debut in Bernardo Bertolucci’s erotic drama “The Dreamers,” where she didn’t leave very much to the imagination. The breakout role probably helped get her a key role in Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven,” a part that was greatly reduced by the time his Crusades epic hit theatres in a heavily edited form.

Other than that, Green hadn’t appeared in that many movies, so when she was cast in the high-profile role of Vesper Lynd, the very first Bond Girl and the one who had the greatest lasting effect on James Bond, in the new adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale, there was a lot of controversy about the casting decision. James Bond Hype! talked to Green about what it was like being a part of the James Bond circus, and having a bit of competition for Bond in ultra-hot Italian actress Catarina Murino.

JBH!: Was he at all like what you expected when you met him in person?
Green: No, actually. I was cast last minute, so I read the script–I liked the script very much–I flew to Prague, I did this audition, so I was really focused and stressed out. And he was there. He had a party the night before and he was very blonde like a Steve McQueen.

He’s moving a lot in real life. He’s very nervous, like an animal, but he was very lovely, very patient and really connecting with me when we did the screen test. It was not like, “Oh, another actress, here we go.”

JBH!: Were you aware of the criticism that Daniel was receiving when he was cast as James Bond?
Green: It’s funny, because in the make-up trailer there are always lots of trashy magazines and it’s always quite pleasant to go through them in the morning. That’s when I realized, “Oh, my. It’s quite nasty.”

There was a lot of pressure on him. He was quite nervous and paranoid sometimes, especially in the Bahamas in the beach. Lots of paparazzi. Even on me in France… nasty things! Like I was going to get fired, I was so bad. I dunno.

It’s a type of publicity I must say. I just laugh about it. It’s so ridiculous. And now, he’s so amazing in the movie.

JBH!: That scene between you and Daniel on the train seemed very off-the-cuff. The chemistry between the two of you on screen is pretty amazing.
Green: The screen test scene. I worked really hard on it, and it was quite tricky, because Martin Campbell wanted me to speak really fast. I was like, “How could you speak that fast and recover?” And it actually works. It’s like a mental poker game, and he kept saying, “Like Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, boom, boom, boom!”

JBH!: It sounds like you got Daniel on your side with Martin Campbell. What didn’t you like about the character that you wanted to change?
Green: You know, it’s always from Bond’s vision, from Bond’s point-of-view. It’s not from my vision or point-of-view. I wanted to let the audience see that she was torn between things, that she felt guilty when she starts to fall in love with him.

And it’s quite true, I think you need to see the movie several times to understand all that Lady Macbeth guilt, to show the ambiguity. Just little things I’m not sure you can see.

JBH!: Right, Vesper is one of the few girls that Bond really falls in love with, but she also is the reason he becomes such a misogynist later. Was that part of the appeal of playing her?
Green: Was it appealing to play the first Bond girl? (laughs) I like it, because she breaks his heart, but she has a big impact on his life and this is why he became the Bond we know. Y’know, he’s an *sshole. (laughs)

It’s interesting, but I don’t know what they are going to do in the next Bond. I mean, what are they going to do?

I know he’s going to try and take revenge or something, but we aren’t going backwards. We are not going to make all the Bonds again.

JBH!: Did you have to do anything in terms of training for the role or getting in shape?
Green: No. I mean, I don’t have a lot of action to do. You’re talking about the black dress that’s quite “booby”? (laughs)

JBH!: Were you jealous of Caterina Murino getting to shag James in the movie?
Green: (laughs) No, Caterina is great. Jealous, no? What do you want me to say to that?

JBH!: Caterina told us how nice Daniel was to break the ice before their sex scene. Did he do anything with you?
Green: He was very paternal. Very “Are you O.K.? Are you alright?” Very tactile and very sweet and nice. And you know, he’s also new. It’s quite scary to be part of this big machine at the beginning.

JBH!: Were there more love scenes between you and Daniel that were cut out of the movie?Green: You’re kind of pervert, aren’t you? (laughs) No, we didn’t have any sex scenes. I mean it’s Bond so you’re not going to have hard R sex.

JBH!: How hard was the underwater scene?
Green: I rehearsed it a lot underwater with a mouthpiece and not freaking out, because you can’t see a thing. It’s like being in a really bad nightmare. I’ve never seen somebody drown, but I really swallowed water and everything.

But it was fine, because I really knew what exactly. It was like a choreography, I knew what I was doing. It was O.K. But people were like, “Omigod, how did she do it?” It was very emotional because when you breathe. I was crying underwater at one point. I was like, “Why? Why?” It was mad.

Read more at SuperHeroHype

Trivia — “‘La Vie en Rose?’” is the title of the thirteenth chapter of Ian Fleming’s novel, Casino Royale. The song also is mentioned in his novels You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever James Bond’s, as it brings back memories of Bond’s relationship with Vesper Lynd.

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