Angelina Jolie exemplifies beauty with both the brains and the brawn.

Jolie’s career is filled to the brim with iconic roles and films of varying genres, but her talent isn’t just limited to the big screens, it goes beyond the spotlight and cameras. Much like Hollywood’s certified adrenaline junkie, Tom Cruise, the Maleficent actress too, held a penchant for action sequences and dangerous stunts, and her breakthrough project stands testament to the same.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – Angelina Jolie Tapped Into Her Wild Side

Simon West’s Tomb Raider led Angelina Jolie to accomplish newfound victories in her career after the film opened the doors of golden opportunities for the Oscar winner. The action-adventure movie sees Jolie’s eponymous heroine set out on an exciting journey to obtain ancient artifacts as she goes against the Illuminati. But playing the femme fatale wasn’t a piece of cake, it involved relentless training and even required Jolie to perform numerous risky stunts by herself.

While her stunt doubles cowered in fear, the Gia star remained nonchalant, delighted even, during feats that seemed wholly threatening, as revealed by the director himself. Not to mention, when the former refused to partake in a particularly dangerous stunt, the 47-year-old actress was more than happy to fill in for her.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

“Angelina was doing triple back flips on the set. She was doing the bungee jumps from 50 feet up in the air. She was laughing. The stunt doubles were clinging to their safety ropes. For one scene where Lara surfs through the air on a thin log, her stunt double refused to do it. Angie said ‘No problem’. Within a week, she was going, ‘I love it! Let’s go again!’”
Even though she had an incredible time on set and got the pleasure of tapping into her adventurous side, at the end of the day, it proved to be heavily taxing for Jolie.

The Brutal Aftermath of Her Adrenaline-Riddled Adventures

The Eternals star had a gala time performing stunt after thrilling stunt in Tomb Raider. “I’ve always been ridiculously fearless,” she told Cinema in an old interview. “I feel alive when I’m afraid.” But her insatiable need for adrenaline soon started to concern West, whose worries would later prove to be warranted.

Jolie herself admitted that after they’d wrap up filming, she’d feel utterly drained and vulnerable during the night, mottled in cuts and bruises all over.

Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft

Soon, her exhaustion melted into a downward spiral which made Jolie question her worth and everything she’d been doing thus far. “One night, I was sitting in my bathtub with all my bruises and cuts. I was crying and thinking, ‘What am I doing? I can’t pull this off.”

Fortunately enough for her though, Jolie gradually found her footing and was back to thriving in no time.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider can be rented on Amazon Prime Video.

Source: Cinema