The success behind Resident Evil is intriguing as it follows the storyline of a military team battling an out-of-control supercomputer and where many scientists turned into flesh-eating creatures due to a lab accident.
Milla Jovovich (the main protagonist of the Resident Evil film series) was cast as the zombie-killing superhuman heroine Alice. The role made her a certified superstar, and The Sydney Morning Herald even called her the “reigning queen of kick-butt.”
However, Jovovich gives all the credit to Angelina Jolie because Jolie has placed herself in a niche (action-adventure) where she has soared ever since.
Starting with Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, then moving on to Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Wanted, her strong kickboxing and intense performance helped her career, even if she didn’t like it first.
Angelina Jolie’s Start of Action-Adventure with Cyborg 2
Angelina Jolie started her career at the age of 16, and the feedback she often received after the auditions about her demeanor was “too dark.” Jolie didn’t realize this until she became renowned for appearing in action-adventure genres.
The actress made her screen debut as a child alongside her father, Jon Voight, in Lookin’ to Get Out (1982), and her film career began a decade later with the low-budget production Cyborg 2 (1993), which was followed by her first leading role in a major film in Hackers (1995).
In 1993, Jolie was just 17 when she was offered to star in Jean Claude Van Damme’s film. Without giving second thoughts, the Gia star agreed to do the movie (despite Van Damme not featuring in the follow-up).
Starring in the long-forgotten Cyborg 2 marks the beginning of her career, and since then, she has barely looked back — the rest is history.
Angelina Jolie Inspired Milla Jovovich’s Resident Evil Role
In Cyborg 2, Angelina Jolie landed the leading role, starring as Casella “Cash” Reese — a Pinwheel prototype cyborg developed for corporate espionage and assassination. This wasn’t the kind of movie the star hoped to celebrate for her first big premiere. The Cyborg 2 actress told Buzzfeed, recalling when she first watched the sci-fi farce:
“Oh, I threw up.”
She continued:
I did,” she insisted. “I saw it, and I threw up. Just nausea. 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 decapitated 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 all right.’”
But even though she didn’t like the character or film, the fact that can’t be denied is Cyborg 2 was the movie through which she set herself up in the film industry. As Milla Jovovich once said, she intended to be in more action movies because:
“Apart from Angelina Jolie, no other actress stands out in this genre.”
That’s not all; Jolie has also proved herself as the queen of action-adventure — a woman who can be both daring and independent.
Source: Far Out
