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Interview with Olga Kurylenko, Actress Quantum of Solace

By John Delia

Ever chat with a beautiful woman and get tongue-tied? Well, I almost did when I interviewed the newest James Bond Girl in Miami. Her role is that of a tough cookie in Quantum of Solace, however the conversation I had with her was nice and easy.
Although she may be known in the future as one of the Bond Girls, Olga had already made a name for herself in Hollywood with some very high profile films. She played in the high energy films Hit Man with Timothy Olyphant and as the hot siren Natasha opposite Mark Wahlberg in Max Payne. Those two quick hits put her in front of millions of moviegoers, but I predict she will be on top of the world when Quantum of Solace hits the screen.
Quantum of Solace finds James Bond (Daniel Craig) back in action exactly where he left off in Casino Royale. His new mission has him moving from one country to the next in pursuit of Dominic Green the ruthless head of an organization called Quantum. His trek leads him to South America, where with his newest bond girl Camille (Olga), he corners the mysterious man who’s trying to get power over a small country.

Your Entertainment Ticket: You have chosen some very good sexy characters in past films you were in. What was your motivation to play a tough Bond Girl and how did you prepare for it?
Olga: “Everything about the role made me want to play it. The role was just so exciting to me, because I had so much to learn. I had to go through so much transformation for my part, that I think it’s the movie that I had to make the biggest change. I am not even talking about all the fight training I had to do and learning to sky dive and working with guns, all of which I have never done before. Learning to adopt a different accent and being a person from a different country, getting a tan and physically trying to look like a Latina, and everything, was a lot of work. I was a different person than I am in my real life, so I had to get into a different skin.”

YET: But weren’t you a tough person in your other films?
O: “I haven’t been very rough in any of the other movies except this one. This is the first one where I am a fighter because in Hitman and Max Payne I am just a girl. So this is the first experience where I was involved in action scenes. Now I don’t want to do just that, but this was amazing because it was the first time. Anything that’s new to me is amazing.”

YET: Tell us about your character. What was Camille like? Did you do some of your stunts?
O: “Kicking a guys butt does feel good especially when I am fighting this big guy Medrano. I mean my character Camille was very well prepared and obviously went through a lot of training. It is possible to be a woman like that, but it is very rare. You have to have a strong background and that is obviously where she is coming from. ”



YET: Now that you have described your character, what was the most difficult part of your role?
O: “The most difficult part was getting all the stunt things right. It was all very precise and very technical and I had to train very hard for it. Even little thing like punches that look easy on the screen was still very difficult to do. It is not like fighting in real life, as you have to also make it look good in front of the camera. That is why stunt guys are stunt guys because they know how to do it on camera. It has to be much faster because the camera catches everything. You need to do it precisely and that is why we trained for six months and then you see it on screen and it is thirty seconds, but it took so much work. That was something new for me apart from the acting. I had to suddenly become a stunt woman too. It was like a different job. I had some bruises and cuts, but that was to be expected.”

YET: Do you think the audience will like the film and your character Quantum of Solace?
O: “I think this movie will please all kinds of people. It is made for a very big audience and I hope they enjoy it. The people I have met who have seen the movie at a screening have been so happy that I am portraying this different strong woman. I think women are very satisfied to see this woman who can kick ass. I am glad for women like her. It is very important.”

YET: Were there any fun experiences you can relate that happened on the set?
O: “We had fun making the movie. Even when we were fighting with the stunt guys we were always joking amongst ourselves. We spent six months together so I can’t come up with anything specific. We just had a really good time because the people were so nice.”

YET: What was it like working with Daniel Craig?
O: “Working with Daniel Craig was good. He is a wonderful actor. He is a good inspiration because you see this actor who works so much and is so focused on his role. I have never seen anyone so focused. He worked on his role everyday, all the time. He does many of the stunts himself so he sets the bar really high. You want to keep yourself at his level. He is a good example so it made me work even harder too. Everybody is so involved it makes you want to be involved that much more. When I came on board, I already wanted to be involved because it was exciting, but when you see these people working it inspires you even more.”

YET: How did you get the part of Camille in Quantum of Solace?
O: “The audition process was different in that it was long. For this movie I went through three tours, three different auditions and each time I got a call back the circle was smaller and smaller. At the end I was very happy when I found out I got it. The casting process was intense because this movie was so big. It is not like any other movie. This was Bond, the biggest movie of the year. You feel tense. It is a big competition to go through. I knew there were a number of people all around the world going for it so in the beginning you think what is your chances when there are so many people from around the world. It is kind of unbelievable.”

YET: There are many Bond Girls over the years of making 007 series. Do you have a favorite Bond Girl?
O: “I don’t have any favorite Bond girls. They are all been different and great. Some have been less interesting as a character as they were just there for eye candy but the last one I thought was a beautiful character in Casino Royale. She was smart and independent.”

YET: You were born in Russia in the late 70’s. What was it like growing up during that time and what is it like now?
O: “In the Ukraine today people are doing slightly better as they have more opportunities. My situation changed so I am helping my family, but there are still people who struggle and have no money. If you keep working and you study and get an education there are jobs. Before there was nothing, no matter what you tried there were no opportunities. You know what I mean? Now there are professions that can allow you to earn, but still there are many that are underpaid. The most important professions like doctors and teachers are always underpaid. The people who make us who we are and the people who save our lives, are the ones that are the most underpaid. It is not fair, but that is life. Life is very unfair. It makes no sense.”