Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 action-adventure movie based on the Tomb Raider video game series, featuring Angelina Jolie, who played the lead role of Lara Croft. Angelina Jolie’s portrayal of the beautiful and brainy Lara Croft in the film was a major box office hit, earning over $275 million globally. The gross worldwide total of the Tomb Raider franchise (including its three movies) is $703 Million.
However, Jolie has since expressed regrets about her involvement in the film. Despite its commercial success, she wasn’t pleased with how her character was presented on screen. She believed that the depiction of Lara Croft’s appearance wasn’t “authentic or realistic” and that certain aspects of the film couldn’t be adjusted to her liking.
Why Didn’t Angelina Jolie Continue Playing Lara Croft?
Angelina Jolie revealed that the way Lara Croft was made to look in the movie wasn’t s*xy or real at all. Over this, she said:
“There were a lot of things, and we couldn’t adjust to everything right.”
Jolie continued:
“I wasn’t satisfied with it.Through the making of that film, we were all still trying figure out how things worked, and we were trying to make the video game into a person, but still it was the video game and still she was a video vixen and she wasn’t quite a solid woman with emotions and feelings.”
Jolie told World Entertainment News Network (via IGN) that she wanted to do the second Tomb Raider film because she felt it was a solid conclusion to the franchise.
“I just don’t feel like I need to do another one. I felt really happy with the last one. It was one we really wanted to do.”
Later, producer Dan Lin revealed that a Tomb Raider sequel was in the filming process. Even if Jolie was willing to star as Lara Croft, she might not have been able to due to her age. In the movie directed by Simon West, Jolie portrays Lara Croft, who engages in a training exercise against a robot in an Egyptian tomb within her family estate.
Also read: Despite Brutal 6 Days a Week Training Sessions, Tomb Raider isn’t Angelina Jolie’s Toughest Movie
Initially, Angelina Jolie was Hesitant About Portraying Lara Croft
Even though Jolie didn’t continue playing Lara Croft in the next sequel of Tomb Rider, she was initially hesitant about portraying Lara Croft due to doubts about the character’s suitability. She even initially declined the role offer. Yet, her passion for travel and performing stunts on her own swayed her decision. She was promised the opportunity to travel globally and train with the British military, which ultimately convinced her to accept the role.
With just three months to prepare, Jolie pushed her boundaries by performing her own stunts— which she continued to do. She got just one day off in a week, and she had to toil for the rest six days to ace her role in the film. Despite her dissatisfaction with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, she didn’t let it stop her from pursuing new challenges and continuing to test her limits in her acting career.
Source: Wiki of Nerds
