Eva Green’s casting in Casino Royale came with a lot of drama of its own. The film was an important part of the franchise, with actor Daniel Craig successfully proving himself to be a great Bond, while the team was able to jump-start an ailing franchise. However, behind the scenes, tensions were palpable when it came to the casting of Vesper Lynd.
Eva Green’s agent was pestered on a weekly basis, for it was important for the producers that Eva Green essay the role of Vesper Lynd. Despite the role being practically her’s for the taking, a screen test with Daniel Craig made things difficult for her.
While the role was practically made for her, it does not mean the process was not without its anxieties and stresses.
There was apparently an accent issue
Eva Green screen-tested with Daniel Craig for her role, which brought the crew face to face with a problem that stressed out everyone. Green’s accent was a little too heavy with the English, which was not what the character needed. The actress would have been required to work up an upper-class English accent by the time production started, which allegedly was the point of anxiety for all parties involved. The actress talked about this to Slashfilms, saying:
“There was some mumbling at the screen test, that’s not a good sign, then I went to New York, four days after, and my agent called me and said, actually you have to come back straight away to Prague and audition again, because they’re not fully satisfied. So, I was crying. It’s very stressful, and I didn’t know what was wrong, but they eventually said, ‘It’s just the English, darling; you just have to work on the English.”
The stress stemmed from the fact that the accent of the actress did not fit the character, despite the actress promising that a favorable change could be made by the time filming commences.
However, the situation was eased over by the fact that Daniel Craig put his foot down when it came to casting Eva Green. The result was simply the greatest James Bond story ever to film.
Daniel Craig made sure that the film stayed loyal to James Bond and Vesper Lynd
While Craig made sure that Eva Green was cast in the role of Vesper Lynd, the actor also fought to make sure that James Bond’s and Vesper Lynd’s characters were accurately represented in the film. The result was one of the most poignant moments in the film, a shower scene that ends up being more about the characters rather than a steamy scene made to be eye candy. Producer Barbara Broccoli, speaking about the scene, recalled:
“[I]t was just sort of hinted at in the script. I was about this thing that if we’re going to go with the violence, if we’re going to go with the reality of it… it’s still a James Bond movie. But I wanted to see what happens. I wanted to see the effect it has on people. She’s in shock, so she’s sitting in the shower in her clothes. It made complete sense to me.”
While the initial scene would have been a downgrade for the film, the decisions that were taken by Daniel Craig for it were some of the best, which ended up not only elevating the characters but also making them seem more human, which would be necessary given the film is about a superspy and his daily realities.
