Eva Green

Infobox actor

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imagesize = 300px
caption = Green at the BAFTAs in London, February 2007
birthname = Eva Gaëlle Green
birthdate = birth date and age|1980|7|5
birthplace = Paris, France
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Actress, model
yearsactive = 2003–present
website =
baftaawards = 2007 Rising Star Award
awards =

Eva Gaëlle Green (IPA2|ɛva ɡʁeːn; 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 described by "The Independent" as "gothic, quirky, and sexy". [cite news |title=Eva Green |publisher=The Independent Magazine |date=2007-04-14]

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.

Early life

Eva Green was born in Paris, France on July 5, 1980, the daughter of French actress Marlène Jobert and Swedish dentist Walter Green. Green has a fraternal twin sister named Joy, who was born two minutes earlier than she. Green described her family as "bourgeois",cite news |author=Richard Kern |title=Eva Green |publisher=Index Magazine |year=2003 |url=http://www.indexmagazine.com/interviews/eva_green.shtml |accessdate=2007-08-27] and that her sister is very different from her.cite news |author=Neil Young |title=Eva Green: Confessions of a nervous |publisher=Neil Young's Film Lounge |date=2003-12-30 |url=http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/evagreeninterview.html |accessdate=2007-08-27] Green is a natural blonde; she only went brunette during her teens.cite news |author=Steve Daly |title=Green Goddess |publisher=Vanity Fair |date=2007-10-02 |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/11/evagreen200711 |accessdate=2007-10-05] 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.cite news |author=Sharon Verghis |title=Not easy being Green |publisher=The Age |date=2006-12-03 |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/film/not-easy-being-green/2006/11/30/1164777722472.html |accessdate=2007-08-27] 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.cite news |author=Stuart Jeffries |title=He's the Bond girl, not me |publisher=The Guardian |date=2007-01-26|url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,1998414,00.html |accessdate=2007-08-27]

Career

At seventeen,cite news |author = Caroline Palmer |title = Mystery Girl |publisher = |work= Vogue |date = October 2003 |pages = 290] 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.cite web |title = Eva Green Biography |publisher = Yahoo! Movies |url = http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1808499952/bio |accessdate=2007-08-27] Green stated that at drama school, "I always picked the really evil roles. It's a great way to deal with your everyday emotions."cite news |author = Anwar Brett |title = Eva Green - Kingdom of Heaven |publisher = |work= BBC |date = 2005-05-04 |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/05/04/eva_green_kingdom_of_heaven_interview.shtml |accessdate=2007-08-27] Green trained at Tisch School of the Arts in New York City,cite news |author = Monique Webber |title = The Green Mile |publisher = Australian Vogue |date = January 2007 |pages = 90] 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".cite news |author = Daniel Schweiger |title = All Hail The Queen: Eva Green Rules Supreme Over The "Kingdom of Heaven" |publisher = Venice |date = May 2005 |pages =60-63]

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. 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", [cite news |author = Stephanie Zacharek |title = Kingdom of Heaven |publisher = |work= Salon.com |date = 2005-05-06 |url = http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/review/2005/05/06/kingdom/index.html | accessdate=2007-08-27] but Nev Pierce of the BBC called her character "limp". [cite news |author = Nev Pierce |title = Kingdom of Heaven |publisher = |work= BBC |date = 2005-05-06 |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/05/03/kingdom_of_heaven_2005_review.shtml |accessdate=2007-08-27] 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." [cite news |title = Kingdom Of Heaven: Director's Cut - DVD Review |publisher = |work= Total Film |date = July 2006 |url = http://www.totalfilm.com/dvd_reviews/kingdom_of_heaven_directors_cut |accessdate=2007-08-27]

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.cite news |author = Edward Douglas |title = Eva Green's Envious Role |publisher = |work= Superherohype.com |date = 2006-11-14 |url = http://www.superherohype.com/news/jamesbondnews.php?id=4901 |accessdate=2007-08-27] 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", [cite news |author = Edward Douglas |title = Casino Royale Director Martin Campbell |publisher = |work=Superherohype.com |date = 2006-11-14 |url = http://www.superherohype.com/news/jamesbondnews.php?id=4900 |accessdate=2007-08-27] 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; [cite web |author=Joshua Rich |title=The 10 Best Bond Girls |publisher= |work=Entertainment Weekly |date=2007-03-30|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1557446_8,00.html |accessdate=2007-08-27] IGN named her the best "femme fatale", stating "This is the girl that broke — and therefore made — James Bond"; [cite web|author = Phil Pirello|title = Very Bad Girls|publisher = IGN.com|date = 2007-11-29|url = http://stars.ign.com/articles/838/838732p2.html|accessdate = 2007-12-03] and she won a BAFTA and an "Empire" award for her performance. Both were voted for by the British public. [cite news |title = James Bond conquers Empire Awards |publisher= |work= BBC News |date = 2007-03-28 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6501949.stm |accessdate=2007-08-27]

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 (coincidentally, it also stars "Casino Royale"'s Daniel Craig, although they do not have any scenes together). Green hoped the religious themes of the book would be preserved, but references to Catholicism were removed from the film. [cite news |title = The Golden Compass |date = 2007-08-16 |url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20052086,00.html |accessdate=2007-08-27] Green next appears in "Franklyn", playing Emilia, [cite news | author=Joe Utichi | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/franklyn/news/1690360/ | title=Exclusive: RT Visits the Set of "Franklyn" | publisher=Rotten Tomatoes | date=2007-11-28 | accessdate=2008-03-11 ] a schizophrenic woman. One personality she portrays is a tormented artist (which she compared to real-life figures Sophie Calle and Tracey Emin) [cite news | author=Ian Spelling | url=http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?id=46011 | title=Green Completes "Franklyn" | publisher=Sci Fi Wire | date=2007-12-05 | accessdate=2008-03-11 ] and Green described the other personality as "full of life, very witty, big sense of humor".cite news | author=G. Allen Johnson | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/30/PK1UTJ8IA.DTL | title=Role as flying witch lifts Green's profile | publisher= |work=San Francisco Chronicle | date=2007-12-02 | accessdate=2008-03-11 ]

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,cite news |author = Steve Russell |title = Auteur's Muse |publisher = |work= Rolling Stone |date = 2005-03-24 |url = http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7203748/eva_green |accessdate=2007-08-27] 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."

Personal life

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,cite news |author=Charlotte Williamson |title=Green Goddess |publisher=Harpers & Queen |date=June 2005 |pages=111] 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 an atheist, having not been raised to follow any religion. [cite news|author=Martyn Palmer|title=Faith No More|work=Total Film|date=December 2007|pages=90] She is currently dating New Zealand actor Marton Csokas, whom she met on the set of "Kingdom of Heaven". [cite news |author=Cath Bennett |title=Former Shortland Street star lands Bond girl |publisher=Sunday News |date=2008-02-24 |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4413897a1860.html |accessdate=2008-02-27] She has no particular fitness regime, as, "I'm French and I'm lazy, which means I smoke and I don't exercise", [cite news |author=Louis B. Hobson |title=Q&A with Eva Green |publisher=Calgary Sun |date=2005-05-12 |url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/G/Green_Eva/2005/05/12/1035909.html |accessdate=2007-08-27] though she does run and practises pilates. Green finds dieting too stressful.cite news |author=Steffanie Bottelier |title=Een vrouw ais Eva |publisher=Netherlands Elle |date=September 2007 |pages=230 |language=Dutch] She thinks of herself as an international actress: she can speak both her native French and English fluently, and is also learning Japanese [cite news |title=007 piangera sulla mia spalla |publisher=Io Donna |date=December 2006 |language=Italian |pages=90] as well as perfecting an American accent.

Green's favourite film is "Cries and Whispers", and she is a fan of directors François Truffaut,cite news |author = Marcello Garofolo |title = Il sesso giovanne |publisher = Ciak |pages = 47 |date = October 2003 |language=Italian] Ingmar Bergman, Tim Burton, Lars von Trier, David Lynch,cite news |title=Eva Green Interview |url=http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/cinemas/eva-green-interview-feature-684.html |accessdate=2007-09-02] 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. [cite news |title=Desnudarse es desinhibirse |publisher=Fotogramas |pages=176 |date=November 2005 |language=Spanish] Green enjoys music, listening to film soundtracks and classical music when preparing for roles, [cite news |author=Michelle Said |title=Gallic Gal |publisher=Movieline Hollywood Life |date=May/June 2005] and she plays the piano. [cite news |title=Eva Green On The Golden Compass, Bond and her Orange Rising Star nomination |publisher=Empire |url=http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=625 |accessdate=2007-08-27]

Filmography

References

External links

*imdb name|id=1200692|name=Eva Green

Persondata
NAME=Green, Eva
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=French actress
DATE OF BIRTH=July 5, 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH=Paris, France
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=