A modern-day swashbuckler in her own right, Lara Croft embodies all the toughness, charm and steely resolve of a beloved action hero–it is through Angelina Jolie‘s lightening bolt-like portrayal of Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its new sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, that audiences are catapulted into a Bond meets Raiders-style adventure.
Still, Croft’s–and Jolie‘s–femaleness brings something refreshingly new to this typically masculine archetype, as she embellishes the role with a modern cool, exotic flair and a tenacious sensibility that audiences had been accustomed to seeing taken on by men. More like the titular character in Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, she’s one serious lady on a mission.
Yet, with Jolie‘s obvious love for adventure, top-notch production values, exotic locations, and the collective filmmakers’ love of the character and a new sense of post-camp, a new rugged badass is born–and she’s a she!
We sat down for a chat with Jolie to find out what drives this lovely lady of cinema.
Jan De Bont [the director] said you were very protective of Lara Croft, the character, from development and throughout– is that true? Do you feel a responsibility?
Angelina Jolie: I wanted to make sure that this [movie] was better than the first one. I wanted to make sure that this one was different, and there were lots of specific things I wanted changed–like her body, like her fashion–most important I wanted her to have depth of character. I wanted her to be challenged. I wanted her to make decisions and show what her character–what she’s made of. Down to the little things and yeah, I had certain ideas…the way she would or would not approach something or deal with somebody.
Was it more fun the second time around?
Yeah, it was more fun. It felt more comfortable coming back the second time. The first one, I was a little bit unsure about what I was doing–even though I had a great time. I liked her more (the second time around). I liked the story more–and it’s never a job bad to travel the world and learn all these skills.
What was it about her body that you wanted to change?
I wanted her to be closer to my body. I wanted her to be a real woman–and that’s something that I thought was sexier – that she (Lara) would be less of a video vixen–still Croft but a little more lady and a little more athletic. It was close to the game in the first one but I just think she’s sexier when she’s closer to a real woman. She’s still curvy–but she’s sexier to me now. She’s proportioned as far as I’m concerned.
You’ve said you wouldn’t be a fan of personally doing physical changes on yourself. Do you still feel that way?
I think if anybody who does any plastic surgery that makes them feel better, or makes them sleep at night, you know if it works for you (then that’s great). But, I love flaws, and I love real things, and I love scars and wrinkles that I see coming–I love it. When you see life on a face or a body, it’s beautiful.
Did you always know you were going to do another Tomb Raider?
I thought I was definitely not going to do another one.
Why not?
Because I was unsatisfied with the first one. But then, I was promised that I
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could really adjust it, and I was shown a script that they had made strong choices, and that I thought was a really good story this time, and was a solid adventure. I knew I had a chance of doing it right and I don’t like to leave something unfinished.
What’s up with doing your own stunts to the point of making the insurance companies a little nervous?
I just feel that if you have the opportunity to be trained to learn a new skill, and do something that you’ve never done before it’s a great opportunity. I am an adrenaline junkie and I love that kind of stuff. But also I think if you’re gonna take this woman’s name (Lara Croft) and pretend to play her you should back it up with some kind of physical daring.
How hard did you have to train for some of those amazing scenes, like when you were running and jumping over the terracotta statues?
That was very hard. I’m glad you pointed that out [smiles]. I had a safety wire and I though that was going to be holding me up, but they (the crew members) were like, “No that’s only for if you fall.” And I fell quite a few times and it was funny, because you’d just spin and smash into a warrior [makes BOOM noise, laughing], and it was embarrassing [smiles] because you have a crew of like 200 people around you, and here you are supposed to be Lara Croft and… there you are falling and smacking into things.
Of all the locations you traveled to, did you have a favorite?
Africa, I’d been there before and it’s just a beautiful place to be. And it was beautiful, just great spending time with the tribes, spending time with my son.
Does he (baby Maddox) follow you all around the set?
Jolie: Oh yeah, every day.
Bet he loved the different animals in Africa.
Yeah he loved it, we’d used to go on safari. A lot of times, we’d just have a few hours (together) during the day–an hour and a half for lunch or something, in the morning… but then I’d come home and it would be dark already, so we’d get in a little van with flashlights and we’d try to wave a light and be like waking up all the animals [laughs]… hippos and lions, yeah, it was fun… good fun.
What’s the biggest challenge about being a mother so far?
Learning to have patience, organize your time… Just, well, I haven’t had a lot of time to read. I love to read; things like that, it’s hard to find the time. But well, it’s just so wonderful. And I love it so much. Little things like: I haven’t had a bath. Sometimes, I forget to have my bath. They [babies] become your center of everything–but that’s just great!
Do you think that that becoming a mother brought a certain “softness” to you that you bring to the screen now–and thus to your character in this installment?
Oh yes, I think that, and traveling a lot with the U.N. lately has made me a much more compassionate person. More aware of the world I live in. My heart’s in a better place–fuller. And at the same time I get real angry, quickly now–about people who are mistreating each other. So, yeah, I probably have a mix of both.
We’ve seen Angelina Jolie within a whole range of images, from glowing and maternal, to charitable and political, to eccentric and wild. Most people tend to note the wild image–do you think that that is always going to be defining you?
I have to ask myself, “Wild–what’s wild?” I see it this way: I’ve explored life. And I’ve never intentionally hurt another person. The funny thing to me is that everyone
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considers wild when I seemed imbalanced or all over the place or was jumping in pools, or getting married. Nobody seems to consider that now, I live in the middle of the jungle with tigers [smiles] and everybody thinks that’s kind of normal and not wild..
Are you learning the Cambodian language?
Yeah… Going to Cambodia for the first Tomb Raider had also a very big effect on me. Simply because it was the first time I went to a country and it finally dawned on me that when I was raised–educated, in school, I was not really taught about other peoples and what was going on in the world, so I started to travel with the U.N.
What are your thoughts on being a heroine to younger audiences?
I take it seriously. I do understand all parents who disapprove of anything that has to do with violence or guns…But I do think that Lara is a good guy and she’s a good friend…and she fights for what she believes in; or if it simply inspires people to take care of themselves and travel the world. I think that that’s a wonderful thing!
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life opens everywhere July 25.
