Special Agent 007 has become immensely popular since decades as it is one of the oldest spy franchises in film history. Throughout the years, numerous actors have portrayed the iconic character, but it was Daniel Craig who took the character’s popularity to a whole new level. The Knives Out actor played James Bond for 15 years and was the longest-serving actor in the role, arguably overtaking Sean Connery in terms of popularity and portrayal of the character.
While Daniel Craig took up the role in five movies, in Casino Royale, Eva Green stole the spotlight from him by becoming a key highlight in the film, and even being remembered as ‘The Hottest Bond Girl.’ Interestingly, Green did not want to be a part of the film, until Barbara Broccoli decided to persistently pursue her to be a part of it.
Barbara Broccoli’s Persistence Convinced Eva Green to Join The James Bond Universe
Casino Royale marked a new beginning in the James Bond universe because Daniel Craig made his debut as Special Agent 007. The film became an instant fan favorite as the new franchise decided to take a grittier tone and focused on a deeper exploration of the iconic character.
Craig’s portrayal was loved by the fans as he decided to play a more vulnerable and emotionally complex character compared to his predecessors. However, it was his intense on-screen chemistry with Eva Green which was the major highlight of the film, amidst all the high-octane action sequences.
Despite being the best Bond girl in Craig’s spy franchise, the Nocebo actress was not interested in portraying the role, until Barbara Broccoli, the producer of the film, came up with a pesky idea to convince Green. In the book titled Nobody Does it Better by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, Broccoli mentioned how they had listed the actress to be the perfect name to star opposite Craig. She said,
We had seen Eva Green in ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ and ‘The Dreamers’ and we thought that she was fantastic. The thing is that this character of Vesper, the way that it was written in the book and in the screenplay … I mean, in Bond lore she is the most important character because she affects his life forever. So we had to cast it really well.
However, Eva Green was not interested in being a part of the franchise because she worried that she would be another “beautiful girl for Bond.” As a result, the Perfect Sense actress instructed her agents to tell Barbara Broccoli and other producers that she was “doing a film in France.”
But the producers and casting directors were more and more convinced that she was the ideal choice for the role as the auditions for Vesper Lynd continued. The producer mentioned how she convinced the actor by coming up with an irritating yet effective idea. She said,
I kept saying to the casting director, ‘Just ring her agent every week.’
The continuous pestering bore results because Green agreed to take on the role, and the dates for her other projects changed. However, another major problem came up after she gave her screen test.
An Unseen Problem Came Up In Eva Green’s Initial Screen Testing
In the same book, Martin Campbell mentioned how the initial screen test between both actors threw up a major problem, stating how Green’s heavy accent was a bad sign. This even resulted in “some mumbling at the screen test,” and she had to lose her native accent to helm the role.
However, Eva Green promised to lose her accent, and projected an elite English tone in the film. Green said,
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.’
Daniel Craig played an essential role in getting her the role as he claimed, “when [Green] came in, there was no decision for me. She brings something to it that’s great.” The final decision was essential as she became an integral part of the film’s success.
Casino Royale can be rented on Apple TV.
