James Bond‘ is a long-running, successful franchise actor’s dream to be a part of. Whenever there’s news of the casting of the next James Bond, the best of Hollywood lines up. There’s also the contentious part of the ‘Bond Girl’ that adds up the femme fatale aspect to Ian Fleming’s adaptations. But Angelina Jolie has no flying interest in being a Bond Girl.
Over the years, the role has assumed a negative connotation as James Bond’s misogynist tendencies have come to light. But before reassessing what it meant to be a Bond Girl, Angelina Jolie declined to star alongside Daniel Craig in the 2006 film ‘Casino Royale.’ Keep scrolling to learn what made her say no.
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Angelina Jolie Wanted To Play James Bond
British Actor Daniel Craig took the James Bond baton from Pierce Brosnan. Looking to reinvent James Bond, director Martin Campbell was looking for an actress to take on the iconic Bond Girl. Unlike before, the makers wanted a Bond Girl who could go toe to toe with 007. Angelina Jolie got the call but declined to say she would rather play James Bond.
The ‘Tomb Raider‘ star was no stranger to playing badass ass-kicking heroines, but playing James Bond would have set a historical precedent. Eva Green eventually played the Bond Girl Vesper Lynd in ‘Casino Royale‘ with Daniel Craig. No, she didn’t play James Bond but found her wish fulfillment in the espionage thriller ‘Salt.’
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Angelina Jolie’s Reasons For Starring In Espionage Thriller ‘Salt’
The James Bond franchise once again approached Angelina Jolie, this time with the part of Callie (played eventually by Olga Kurylenko). For a while, the 47-year-old actress was interested too. However, she wanted her character to appear in a recurring capacity which was a deal breaker for the studios. But she continued her quest to play action heroines with Philip Noyce directed ‘Salt‘ where she plays Evelyn Salt, a spy forced to go on the run.
In a conversation with Vanity Fair, Angelina Jolie talked about how the script was tweaked when she came to the project. The part was a male lead, supposedly for Tom Cruise, who dropped out. “You think it would be easy [to change]. You just flip the character from Edwin to Edwina. But it was a lot trickier than we thought.” She admired how her character is constantly under intense mental and physical pressure, saying, “We made her meaner than a guy, and dirty. It’s the Chihuahua up against the big dogs.”
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