Kurylenko speaks about returning to spy action

Kurylenko speaks about returning to spy action

French actress Olga Kurylenko is no stranger to spy thrillers having been cast as Daniel Craig's Bond girl in Quantum Of Solace. Now the Ukraine-born beauty is starring with former 007 Pierce Brosnan in a role written with her in mind.

In The November Man, now showing, 34-year-old Kurylenko plays Alice, a social worker who gets caught in the crossfire of a spy operation. Ex-spy Peter Devereaux (Brosnan) leaps in to protect her.

Little does he know that Alice has secrets of her own.

Since her English-speaking debut in 2007's Hitman, Ukraine-born Kurylenko has shared the big screen with many male leads, including Tom Cruise and Ben Affleck in last year's Oblivion and To The Wonder respectively.

The actress talked to M about her return to spy action.

Your co-star in this fim was also the producer 

Pierce is a wonderful person. He's approachable and open to ideas. He's an amazing actor and has this British humour. He also has this great expression in his eyes, that's so full of charm.

Not every actress has a role especially written for them ?

I'm honoured. Apparently, they thought of me before I did Hitman - and that was my first English-speaking film. Before that I only did French films, so the fact that they stuck with me all these years and called me back for it is very pleasant to know. Roger (Donaldson) is such a great director. The vibe was great on set and if anybody knows how to make a great thriller, it's Roger.

What was your most challenging scene ? 

Running in 40 deg C heat. It was July in Belgrade and it gets so hot there and a lot of scenes were outside, so that was challenging. The rest was just fun. I wasn't involved in any particularly complicated fights, but my character does get to have some initiative and be proactive. What's fun is that she's such a simple girl - not a highly trained spy. She just works at an office and doesn't know how to deal with this situation.

It is a full of twists

Which is good in a thriller. We always try to guess what's going to happen, but I think it's best is when you understand it wrongly and don't figure it out. I've had people tell me they had it all wrong and it took them by surprise.

What do you look for in roles ?

I'd like to do comedy. I did Seven Psychopaths (2012) but my part was so tiny. The roles have to touch me and the people involved have to be right. But then there are certain people you just want to work with no matter what type of script it is.

tnp@sph.com.sg

This article was published on Sept 3 in The New Paper.

Get The New Paper for more stories.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.