Angelina Jolie’s debut movie was not something that the actor can count on to be proud of as she appeared on screen when she was 17. Michael Schroeder’s Cyborg 2, starring Jolie, Jack Palance, Billy Drago, and co. was a critical failure.
However, starring Jolie in the 1993 movie was a big risk but the makers did not hesitate to take it. The casting Jolie drama started after the director found her to be perfect but she had to do a topless scene and she was just 17.
Cyborg 2: The Maker’s Conundrum Casting Angelina Jolie
There was a legal problem casting Angelina Jolie in a movie where she had to do a topless scene as the actor was just 17, still below the age of consent in many states. But Jolie was looking to explore the world, a way out, as she was living under her parent’s roof.
For Michael Schroeder, it was not easy to find the perfect actor for the role as he “read probably 50 actresses and model types” looking for the a*s-kicking fembot. “It was really difficult to find somebody who had the cyborg quality but still has some kind of presence, and when this girl came in, I knew she had what it takes,” the director told Hollywood Gothique.
“Then I found out she’s only 17, and we can’t mess around with labor laws and welfare workers and school teachers. I just didn’t have that luxury; I had to shoot, shoot, shoot. She had just finished high school; she had done her junior and senior year in five months.”
Jolie’s father, Jon Voight was also a famous actor, “He knew a judge and made some calls, and we got her emancipated because she had been living on her own for quite awhile,” Schroeder said. “She just needed to file and get a judge to agree to it, so then we could just work,” he added. The director also revealed that they did not have to give her special treatment as she was the most mature 17-year-old he met.
Angelina Jolie Said Cyborg 2 was Nauseating
Jolie has accomplished a lot in her decade-spanning career but looking back to her first movie, the Eternals actor said it was nauseating. The sci-fi was a terrible choice on her part but for Jolie, it was a bold move coming out of dependency on others. “Oh, I threw up,” Jolie said of Cyborg 2. “I did. I saw it and I threw up. Just nausea,” she added.
“But the kickboxing was fun. It was the first time I was sent to do kickboxing. But I was 17 and I think I thought I was making a real movie, which is odd, since there’s a scene when I’m decapitating and talking…as one does. But, yeah, I saw it and got really sick. I just remember my brother Jamie [Haven] holding me and saying, ‘It’s going to be alright.”
As far as being an actor goes, Jolie was inspired by her mother Marcheline Bertrand’s desire to be an actor. “When my mother died, I realized how much my being an actress was linked to her desire to be an actress herself, and especially what satisfaction it brought her when she saw me onscreen,” Jolie told Dandy once. “Once she was gone, I didn’t feel the same attraction for it,” she added.
Now, the actor does not want to be in the spotlight anymore. “What I really like is to be behind the camera, to put others into the light,” she said. Perhaps, the Maleficent actor would focus more on her directorial venture.
Source: Giant Freakin Robot.
