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Eva Gaalle Green (born July 5, 1980) is a French actress, raised in Paris and living partly in London. She has been noted by Vogue for her "killer looks, intelligence and modesty", and has been described by The Independent as "gothic, quirky, and sexy". 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.", The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers (2003), which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for which she won a BAFTA. She has also modelled for numerous brands. 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. Green has a fraternal twin sister named Joy, who was born two minutes earlier than her. Green described her family as "bourgeois", and that her sister is very different from her. Green is a natural blonde; she dyed her hair black during her teens. French-Swedish actress Marika Green is her aunt. Green was raised in France, and spent some time as well in Ramsgate, London and Ireland. Her school was English-speaking. Green was quiet at school, and developed an interest in Egyptology when she visited the Louvre at age seven. Green aspired to become an actress when she saw Isabelle Adjani in The Story of Adele H. at the age of fourteen. Jobert initially feared the effect an acting career would have on her sensitive daughter, but she soon supported her ambitions. At seventeen, Green enrolled at Eva St. Paul Drama School in Paris for three years, and then spent ten weeks at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Green stated that at drama school, "I always picked the really evil roles. It's a great way to deal with your everyday emotions." Green trained at Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, before she returned to Paris, where she performed in several plays. Green was nominated for a Molière Award award for her performance in Jalousie en Trois Fax. 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. Director Bernardo Bertolucci discovered Green in 2002, and found her "so beautiful, it's indecent". She accepted his invitation to star in The Dreamers (2003), despite her parents' initial objections because of Maria Schneider's traumatisation after filming Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris. Green performed extensive nude scenes, which felt natural once on set, though she was embarrassed when her family saw the film. In addition to performing, Green was also credited with writing the score. 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. Her performance was well received, with some comparing her to Liv Tyler. Green expressed surprise when a minute was cut from the film for the American market, as "there is so much violence, both on the streets and on the screen. They think nothing of it. Yet I think they are frightened by sex." Green followed up The Dreamers with Arsène Lupin (2004), in the light-hearted part of a love interest which she had fun playing, though she generally preferred more complex parts. It was her performance in The Dreamers that convinced Ridley Scott to cast Green in Kingdom of Heaven (2005), a film about the Crusades where she played Sibylla of Jerusalem. Green performed six screen tests, and was hired with only a week before principal photography began. Green found the atmosphere of coming onto a film so late tense and exciting, and also liked the film's ambiguity in approaching its subject matter. To her disappointment, much of her screentime was cut. Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com praised her performance as "She doesn't quite know what to do with her character's stilted dialogue, but she carries herself so regally that you barely notice", but Nev Pierce of the BBC called her character "limp". Green was satisfied when her character's complex subplot was restored in the director's cut. Total Film noted the new scenes completed her performance: "In the theatrical cut, Princess Sibylla sleeps with Balian and then, more or less, loses her mind. Now we understand why. Not only does Sibylla have a young son, but when she realises he's inflicted with leprosy just like her brother Baldwin, she decides to take his life shortly after he's been crowned king." 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. Green was considered for parts in The Constant Gardener (a role which went to Rachel Weisz) and The Black Dahlia. She was a piece of last-minute casting for the role of Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006). Green was approached in mid-2005 but turned it down. Principal photography was already underway, and director Martin Campbell noted casting the role was difficult because "we didn't have the final script and a Bond girl always had the connotation of tits 'n' ass." Campbell saw Green's performance in the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, and Green was approached again. She read the script, and found the character of Vesper far deeper than most Bond girls. Green's performance was well received: Entertainment Weekly called her the fourth best Bond girl of all time; IGN named her the best femme fatale, stating "This is the girl that broke and therefore made James Bond"; and she won a BAFTA and an Empire award for her performance. Both were voted for by the British public. Green portrayed the witch Serafina Pekkala in the film adaptation of The Golden Compass (2007), and will return to shoot two sequels if she wishes. Green hoped the religious themes of the book would be preserved, but references to Catholicism were removed from the film. Green next appears in Franklyn, playing Emilia, a schizophrenic woman. One personality she portrays is a tormented artist (which she compared to real-life figures Sophie Calle and Tracey Emin) and Green described the other personality as "full of life, very witty, big sense of humor". In addition to her acting career, Green has modelled for Breil, Emporio Armani, Lancôme, Heineken, and Christian Dior SA's "Midnight Poison" perfume, in an advert directed by Wong Kar-wai. She has also expressed interest in returning to the theatre, and has no plans to go to work in Hollywood because, "The problem with Hollywood is that the studios are super powerful, they have far more power than the directors. My ambition at this moment is just to find a good script." Green considers herself nerdy: "When people first meet me, they find me very cold. I keep myself at a distance, and I think that's why I'm so drawn to [acting]. It allows me to wear a mask." She moved to Primrose Hill, London in mid-2005, She prefers the "village-like" atmosphere of the London neighbourhood: "I feel more centred when I'm there." She lives alone, jokingly referring to her border terrier, Griffin, as her "husband". She is currently dating New Zealand actor Marton Csokas, who she met on the set of Kingdom of Heaven. She has no particular fitness regime, as, "I'm French and I'm lazy, which means I smoke and I don't exercise", though she does run and practises pilates. Green finds dieting too stressful. She thinks of herself as an international actress: she can speak both her native French and English fluently, and is also learning Japanese as well as perfecting an American accent. Green's favourite film is Cries and Whispers, and she is a fan of directors François Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Tim Burton, Lars von Trier, David Lynch, and David Fincher. She admires the actresses Lauren Bacall, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Jeanne Moreau, Cate Blanchett, Juliette Binoche, and Helena Bonham Carter. She credits Blanchett and Kirsten Dunst as her fashion influences, describing her own taste as, "bright pink lipstick, hot pink or geisha colors. Make up is allowed to be a bit weird, I feel." Her favourite artists are Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele, and she is a keen museum visitor. Green enjoys music, listening to film soundtracks and classical music when preparing for roles, and she plays the piano. |
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