On the Set of 'Quantum Of Solace'

Olga Kurylenko in Quantum of Solace

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Olga Kurylenko: The Bond Girl

You beat out 400 other actresses to land this role. Were you a bag of nerves in your audition?
After I got the role, Marc [Forster] said, "So, tell me one thing. How come you were so calm at the audition?" I [said], "What do you mean?" He said, "Well, the other girls, they came in and they were freaking out. And you came in and I said, 'Wow, she just doesn't give a shit, she's so cool.'" I said, "I was freaking out!" I was nervous but I also said to myself, if I was going to show that I'm nervous, I would not get the part. You have to take yourself in hand.

Was it ever a dream of yours to be a Bond girl growing up in the Ukraine?
No. I didn't think it's possible. I was too far away from it.

Do you have a favorite Bond girl?
No. It's not a question I ask myself. Michelle Yeoh [in Tomorrow Never Dies] was good because she did the fight scenes by herself, so I think that's pretty impressive. Because I do that in this movie, I rewatched that movie to see how she did it.

What specific training have you done?
I did fight training. And I did work with weapons, to learn how to shoot a gun and physically try different types, a machine gun, too — that was cool. It was impressive, it was quite scary. And I learned how to strip a gun apart and then put it together. I actually became really good — I did it in eight seconds!

Camille's out for revenge in Quantum Of Solace... Can you say much about her background?
Her background is quite tough. Everything she is doing in the movie is because she is driven by everything that happened to her in the past. That's quite vague, but you know what I mean. Definitely she had tough things happening in her youth.

What are Camille's qualities?
She's persistent, and she's determined and independent. These are pretty good qualities even in life. It's very good to know what you want in life, and she definitely knows what she wants. She takes risks, and she's not afraid.

Do you get to kiss James Bond?
I don't know — I'm waiting to see if he behaves well in the movie, and then if he behaves well, I give him a kiss. But if he's a bad boy, I'm not gonna kiss him. You have to earn the kiss. So it's all gonna depend on his behavior.

So it's up to you, it's not in the script...
It's up to me. I decide if I kiss him or not. [laughs]