Witch from the Waters

The first Bond girl, Ursula Andress, celebrated her seventieth birthday in May of this year. In 1962, in the first James Bond film, Dr. No, it was she who emerged from the waters of the Caribbean in a revealing swimsuit. Bond fans consider this moment the sexiest in the history of world cinema. This mise-en-scène was repeated in 2002 by the first black girlfriend of agent 007, Oscar winner Halle Berry in the film “Die Another Day.” This time, the producers chose the French actress Eva Green, known for the films “The Dreamers” by Bertolucci and “Kingdom of Heaven” by Ridley Scott, as the “Bond girls”. Vita RAMM also met with Eva GREEN.

—What did your friends say when they learned that you had been offered the role of a “Bond girl”?

- I was so busy that I couldn’t call them and tell them this amazing news. So my friends found out that I would be 007's teammate from the newspapers. Fortunately, none of my loved ones were offended, and they sincerely congratulated me.

—What was more difficult for your heroine, the beautiful and smart Miss Vesper: to fight or not to succumb to the male charms of James Bond?

— After reading the script, I realized that I would play a rather atypical heroine. There were almost no fights; the most difficult test was running up the stairs in high heels. My Miss Vesper is a complex girl, and I liked to understand her thoughts, her inner life, in order to fit organically into the context of the picture. This is a real acting challenge.

- If you met a Bond like this in real life, could you fall in love with him?

-- In the film “Casino Royale,” Agent 007 is not yet the same as what we have become accustomed to in the twenty previous films. The viewer will see a young James Bond, fresh and even somewhat awkward. Very charming. And I understand why my heroine fell in love with him.

— In the book, if I remember correctly, the heroine was of Russian origin. Is this mentioned in the film?

- The script is very different from the book. My heroine is not a KGB agent, she works for the British Treasury. And it is impossible to say for sure whether she is French or British.

—Your work with Mr. Craig is not limited to just the James Bond film, is it?

— Yes, we are filming together in the film adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy trilogy “His Dark Materials.” The first part will be called “The Golden Compass”. I will play a witch... But a good one.