Olga Kurylenko starred alongside Tom Cruise in 2013’s Oblivion, a post-apocalyptic action-adventure film helmed by Joseph Kosinski. The former Bond girl talked about her experience working with the Top Gun: Maverick star as well as riding heavy bikes on the set.
The stunts in the movie were all intense, and according to Kurylenko, she was not allowed to do her own but only Cruise can get away with that. Well, it’s nothing new because everyone knows the actor loves death-defying stunts.
Olga Kurylenko Shares Experience Filming Stunts On Oblivion
During her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actress Olga Kurylenko shared her experience working on Oblivion. The French-Ukrainian star admitted she does not always love her films, but this one with Tom Cruise was very special. She stated:
“Oblivion is so beautifully made and shot. I remember riding the bike with Tom, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, how fast is he gonna go?’ [Laughs.] Obviously, when you’re a passenger, you have to trust the person. Those bikes can go pretty fast, and there were some intense scenes.”
She revealed the bikes went very fast, and there was nothing she could do but hold on to for dear life. The former Bond girl also revealed she did not get to do riding stunts because it was too dangerous:
“No, it was done by a stunt person. I can’t ride a heavy bike at that speed. I took motorcycle lessons a long time ago, but I can only use my skills for starting it and coming to a stop. Also, for insurance reasons, I don’t think they would allow me or any actor — even if they knew how to do it.”
In another conversation with The Mary Sue, she recalled how scared she was to film the bike scenes because of a previous accident. Still, she managed her fear.
“I remember them saying, ‘Do you know how to drive a motorcycle?’ And I told them yeah, I took classes when I was going to get a license for a motorcycle. But then I fell and lost my nerve. I got scared, because the road was slippery from rain when I fell, and now, years later, I got back on the bike to shoot the close-ups. I, of course, wasn’t doing the scenes when the bike is going 200 miles an hour, but I got to get back on the bike.”
With her previous training as a Bond girl in Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace, Kurylenko was able to deliver the part she needed to play in the movie.
Olga Kurylenko Reveals What It’s Like Working With Tom Cruise
Speaking with Collider, Olga Kurylenko described her collaboration with the Mission: Impossible actor. Apart from being hands-on, she said he was very giving:
“He’s such a generous partner, and that’s not always the case. I’ve never seen him sit in his trailer. He’ll always be there [for you]. If the camera was on me, even if he was far away, just for my eye line, he would prefer to be there. He would never leave the set, even if I told him seriously, ‘I don’t need you,’ he would still be there because he is involved one hundred percent.”
Certainly, that’s how enthusiastic Tom Cruise is when working on his movies. He always makes sure everything’s on the right track.
