Eva Green, “heroine and not a joker” from Kingdom of Heaven

Ridley Scott's film returns to television.

While waiting for the release of Gladiator II, Cstar will rebroadcast the historic film Kingdom of Heaven, of Ridley Scott. The opportunity to reread the words of your heroine Eva Green in the pages of First when it was released in cinemas in 2005. It was then only the French actress' third role (and her first in English).

Kingdom of Heaven: behind the scene of the siege of Jerusalem

Seeing her appear naked in Innocentsof Bernardo Bertolucciit's hard to believe that Eva Green has always struggled with unhealthy shyness, sometimes misinterpreted. “Some people wrongly mistake her distance for coldness. Eva is professional, complete but also very secretive”confides Jean-Paul Salome who directed her in Arsène Lupine. The interview exercise is thus considered to be torture. Even an attack. On the defensive, she hesitates, stammers, corrects herself. We are surprised, it closes. “In life, I'm a little stuck, she admits. Doing this job allows you to open up. Filming Innocents acted like therapy, allowing me to release all my 'shit', my violence. I played very ingenuously. Looking back, I tell myself that we still have to monitor the image we convey. I don't want to fall into the cliché of the femme fatale. And then, the questions about nudity start to annoy me…”

Today, Eva Green is promoting the worldwide release of Kingdom of Heavenby Ridley Scott. A logical evolution for this perfectly bilingual actress. “Being able to play in English allows you to have a greater choice.” Does France already seem too narrow? “Here, I’m not offered anything. Perhaps people in the trade haven’t seen Innocents?” On the set ofArsène LupineEva learns that a casting call is being organized in London for the next Ridley Scott. She goes there, delivers two tirades, then meets the English director. He talks to her about the crusades, she listens to him religiously. Three weeks later, new try, in costumes. Impressed, she cracks. Scott takes her in his arms. “Ridley was very patient. I thought I looked ugly with my curls, I didn't know my lines…” Two months pass and the good news comes: she gets the role. In Kingdom of HeavenEva plays SybilChristian queen of Jerusalem at a time when Christians and Muslims respected each other despite everything. “The film shows Muslims in a very positive light, does she slip. It celebrates human kindness and stigmatizes the futility of war.” The Pentagon will appreciate…

Married to a warmonger whom she hates, Sybille falls in love with a blacksmith (Orlando Bloom), soon knighted. The day the conflict between the two communities breaks out, his character goes through many trials. “He suffers from multiple frustrationsshe said. She's a heroine, not a puppet.” Is Eva Green gone to do as well as her mother, Marlene Jobertwhose filmography reflects an eclecticism of the best taste? “Like her, I aspire to work with great directors. I admire her in We won't grow old together [Maurice Pialat].” Less petulant in nature, she is perhaps destined for darker jobs. A profile Adjanihis idol…

Doesn't the risk of damage frighten him? “If the director is a good director of actors, everything goes wellshe maintains from the height of her three films. I appreciate having a certain autonomy. I'd rather feel lost than constrained by bad directions.” Or by the stupidity of certain directors. Such Oliver Stone. “This gentleman asks me to learn any text for a testshe remembers. I choose Mademoiselle Else, by Arthur Schnitzler. During my monologue, he yells: 'Louder, I don't understand anything!' Then: 'I didn't understand anything!' And it breaks. It’s not happening.” And Eva attacks the jungle of castings, likely to put you off the job. “We are treated like cattle there. In my mother's time, we trusted people.” Marlène Jobert defined herself as a pain in the ass. Does Eva recognize herself in herself? “I don’t have enough balls yet!” she concludes.
Interview Christophe Narbonne and Jean-Baptiste Drouet

Eva Green: “My mother tells me often that I should stop acting crazy”

Since 2005, Eva Green has played multiple roles in Hollywood (Casino Royale, Penny Dreadful, Dumbo…) and gained more confidence in herself, as we can read in a more recent interview:

Eva Green as femme fatale: “It’s a lot of fun to play”