From Tomb Raider to Marvel heroine: How Angelina Jolie transformed herself

Angelina Jolie is one of the recognized sex symbols of the 2000s, actress, producer, director, UN Goodwill Ambassador, mother of six children and ex-wife of Brad Pitt. Over the past 20 years in her life has happened a lot: rapid career growth, “Oscar”, a love story, which the whole world watched breathlessly, the struggle for her health and difficult experiences. Over the years, not only Jolie’s movie roles and image have changed, but also she herself. We tell you what transformations experienced beloved viewers Lara Croft, Mrs. Smith and Maleficent.

Lara Croft: how Jolie was preparing for the role

To the famous image of the hot tomb raider Jolie came not immediately, but only in 2001. Before playing one of her most famous roles – Lara Croft, Jolie had time to star in several other projects. Including playing a supporting role in the movie “Life Interrupted,” for which in 2000 the actress received her first “Oscar”.

In the screen adaptation of the computer game “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” heroine actress – archaeologist and adventurer. She was characterized by good athletic training: to overcome obstacles in the form of ancient traps and escape from bandits – tasks for the strong not only spirit. Here and the actress in that period looked the most “in the body”. Some would even call Angelina version of the 2001 version of the girl “with forms”, although at that time, their particular opulence, she was not distinguished.

Most of the stunts Jolie tried to perform independently, as far as producers allowed. To do this, a few months before the start of filming the actress had to radically change his lifestyle. As the future Lara admitted in an interview, in those years she smoked and abused alcohol, poor sleep, did not follow the regime. To prepare the actress for stunts, she was assigned a whole team of trainers and nutriciologists.

Jolie has always been distinguished by the delicacy of the figure, so for the role of a strong in every sense of the woman she had to gain a couple of kilograms of muscle mass. Several times a week Angelina had strength training. She also practiced yoga, kickboxing, learned shooting and rowing.

I felt like I had enlisted in the army. I cried at night, counting the bruises and abrasions.

In one of the episodes, the heroine had to fight using a rifle not for its intended purpose. In order to prepare for this scene, the actress had to study with specially trained stuntmen. At first Jolie thought that the preparation will not take more than an hour or two, but her expectations were not justified: training continued after two and a half hours.

At the end, I started to think that I’m doing great. But at that moment, the stuntman came at me like he was totally serious with two swords! My heart was pounding and it was like a real fight.

Despite the severity of such hard workouts, Jolie was pleased with her changes. As it turned out, physical exercise was not the only test on the way to the perfect body of Lara Croft – the actress was waiting for a very strict diet. Angelina could not eat bread, sugar, alcoholic beverages and coffee. Her mandatory diet included stewed fish and beef, soy milk, eggs and vegetables – a lot of protein, which also contributed to the growth of muscle mass.

Although the Lara Croft movies themselves received more mixed than positive reviews, it was a success for Jolie. In the image of a daring adventurer, she was recognized around the world. In 2005 came out the action movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, thanks to which Angelina not only met her future husband Brad Pitt, but also finally won the hearts of fans. In 2006 and 2008, the couple had children: after both pregnancies Jolie-Pitt, prone to thinness, quickly returned to her usual form.

Fans are concerned about Angelina’s health

In 2007, Angelina’s mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian cancer. Also her grandmother Stella and several other relatives passed away from cancer. The actress decided to test her genes for cancer susceptibility and, after learning that for her the risk of developing breast cancer was 87% and ovarian cancer – 50%, decided to undergo surgery. In 2013, Jolie underwent a bilateral mastectomy – removal of her breasts – followed by reconstruction. She talked about the surgery in her article for The New York Times. In 2015, in an interview with the same publication, Jolie also talked about the removal of her ovaries. As the actress shared, the surgeries helped significantly reduce the risk of developing such diseases and gave her a chance to raise children and possibly see grandchildren.

But this is not the only ordeal Angelina has endured in recent years. In 2016, she decided to end her relationship with Brad Pitt. The divorce process of “Brangelina”, one of the favorite star couples of the 2000s, was widely covered in the media and could not help but affect the actress. The divorce dragged on for three years: officially all legal issues were resolved only in the spring of 2019. During this time, Jolie noticeably lost weight, and fans began to make assumptions about anorexia and other possible health problems.

According to the media version, she was greatly affected by the long-drawn divorce from Pitt and all the accompanying squabbles, and her weight allegedly reached a mark of 41 kg, which for the growth of the actress (1.69 m) is extremely small. Also reported about fainting Jolie and her poor health. But she herself did not comment on the situation.

Maleficent and Jolie’s debut at Marvel

In 2019, the actress returned to the role of Maleficent (the first movie was released in 2014) – perhaps not such an evil sorceress from the tale of Sleeping Beauty.

And in 2020, a new movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “The Eternals,” where Jolie also played one of the main roles, will hit the big screens.

Fans, by the way, did not even recognize the actress in a superhero costume. In the movie she plays a warrior able to fly, unrivaled sword and telekinesis, as well as able to emit energy from her eyes and hands. It seems the skills she learned while filming Lara Croft will come in handy again.

Contrary to rumors about health problems, Angelina Jolie not only does not abandon projects, but, on the contrary, is actively working on new films. According to the actress, she has almost recovered from the surgeries, now feels good and gradually accepts her changes.

I take hormones and have regular medical check-ups. I see and feel the changes in my body but I accept them. I am alive and so far managing the various issues I inherited.