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Diane Kruger Diane truly has a face that could launch a thousand ships, so it is fitting that she was cast as Helen in the Warner Bros. epic Troy. A well-known model before her breakout fame, Diane's beauty transcended still photograph to the movie pictures in films like Mon Idole, Michel Vaillant and The Piano Player. Diane Kruger initially aspired to be a dancer and studied with the Royal Ballet in London. When an injury ended her hopes for a dancing career, she began modeling in Germany, where she became a finalist of the Look of the Year contest at the age of 15. She worked with renowned fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana, and her pictures graced the covers of magazines like Vogue and Elle. Moving to Paris on the advice of film director Luc Besson, Kruger decided to take up acting and enrolled in the Ecole Florent, where she became top of her cl in 2002. The same year, the actress made her big-screen debut opposite Dennis Hopper and Christopher Lambert in the indie feature The Piano Player (aka The Target), but she was not truly revealed until her role in Mon Idole, co-starring and directed by her real-life companion Guillaume Canet. After a couple more acting ignments in France, Kruger began her Hollywood career by acting alongside Josh Hartnett and Rose Byrne in Wicker Park, a remake of the 1996 French film L'Appartement. While still filming Wicker Park in 2003, she was selected among many other candidates to play the legendary beauty Helen of Troy in Wolfgang Petersen's historical epic Troy (2004). The latter film ended up being released before Wicker Park, thus becoming her high-profile introduction to the American public. She also starred opposite Nicolas Cage in Jon Turteltaub's National Treasure. In 2004, she stars in the romantic thriller Wicker Park, where Diane is the love interest of Josh Hartnett, and National Treasure, in which Diane goes hunting for a Revolutionary War artifact with Nicolas Cage. More fun stuff about Diane Kruger Was a finalist in Elite's 1992 Look Of The Year competition at age 15. Measurements: 33 1/2-23-34 1/2 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Had to gain 15 lbs for Troy (2004) because director Wolfgang Petersen wanted her to appear rounder. She has since lost the weight. She has a younger brother, Stefan. Modeled under her birth name, Diane Heidkrueger, in the mid to late-1990s. Originally a ballet dancer, but quit dancing due to an injury. Lives in Paris with her husband. Her personal quotes: "With Wolfgang Petersen, we were always the only two ready at time and the first on the set during the filming of Troy. The German rigour without a doubt." "It was something strange for me, to kiss Orlando. I was so embared!It is not the funniest thing to do to shoot love scenes. You feel vulnerable, and there are about 100 people looking at you." "I'm a little bit worried about this sudden success. I am quite independent and I'm afraid that this privilege could escape from me." Diane Kruger on "National Treasure" She first stunned audiences in “Troy” by taking on a role which required her to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Later she won the sympathy of moviegoers as the heartbroken victim in the romantic thriller “Wicker Park.” Now Diane Kruger, on the verge of becoming an American breakout, will join Nicolas Cage in the hunt for one of the nation’s biggest buried secrets. The German native co-stars in “National Treasure,” the latest Jerry Bruckheimer action film starring Nicolas Cage. Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the film tells the fictitious legend of a valuable treasure brought over to America and then hidden by our forefathers. The location of the treasure has been unknown, until an archaeologist uncovers a startling revelation: that the map to the treasure lies on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Diane spoke to reporters about her latest film and below is what she had to say: Q: Who was funnier: Jon or Nic? DIANE: Well, Jon is really funny in his own right but Nic can get really hysterical. It’s funny if you’re in that state of mind but Jon is much more serious on the set. He’s very concentrated. So is Nic. [Jon] is more old school, whereas Nic is all over the place. Q: What’s your favorite Nicolas Cage movie? DIANE: Favorite? I would probably say “Leaving Las Vegas” because I thought his performance was amazing. Then again, I did have a huge crush on him when I was 12 and he was in “Moonstruck.” So I like that. “Raising Arizona,” I don’t know. He’s done an impressive body of films. Q: Did you have to do any of the stunts yourself? Or did you have a stunt person make you look good? DIANE: (Laughs) Geez, I wish that was the case. That was the first time I had done any kind of stunts and honestly, it’s fun for two nights and then it gets annoying. I’m certainly not one of those actors. I’m not going to be the next Lara Croft! It’s fun but it’s a whole different exercise in acting. Hanging onto a truck and screaming five nights in a row isn’t my idea of fun in a way. So I was grateful I had a great stunt lady. Q: Is it hard for you to get into a moment with a lot of adrenaline? DIANE: The situation is that a door of a van opens and you’re hanging off the door of a van. What else can you do other than scream? It’s not like there’s a lot of acting required here, you know? But it was really fun to do. It was fun and I had never done it. The whole movie - there were new experiences but in general, I don’t think I’m a huge action stunt person. Q: You’d still be up for doing action films though, right? DIANE: Sure, it depends on the movie. But I’ll make sure I get a good stunt lady! But you do get banged up and that’s the fun of it. Q: You’ve had such a great rising career. Did you think you’d get the role in “National Treasure,” even though you still have trouble getting rid of your accent? DIANE: Exactly. I didn’t want to go in, in the beginning, and even when they insisted, I thought I was never going to get this part. In a way, I feel really grateful to Jerry because he really wanted me. Even with the accent, he was like, “Well, America is a country of immigrants and most people here do have accents. Just because you’re not born in this country doesn’t make you a non-American.” Q: Playing Helen of Troy must’ve put a lot of pressure on you. Was it nice to do something like “National Treasure” right after that? DIANE: It depends. I don’t have that much experience but some characters, you’re really happy and glad to leave behind. For me, with Helen, I was glad I was doing something light. Shooting went on for six months and in every scene, I was either crying or being really sad or melancholic. I was aching to do something really light and really sy and not having to live up to being Helen of Troy for six months. Q: Was it lonely being away for that long? DIANE: I’m pretty good at being away because I’ve modeled on the road before. After “National Treasure,” I was really starting to feel a little blue and a really lonely because I’ve been away for a year and a half and that’s unusual. You do get lonely and that’s one of the toughest things about acting. You’re in a remote place, like Mexico, and even though you make friends on set, you just don’t have your backbones there. Being on the phone all the time is really draining. Q: Do you want to keep that balance of doing entertaining movies like “National Treasure” and more drama driven ones like “Wicker Park”? DIANE: Yes absolutely. I have to say because I want to have a career that combines movies like that with smaller, independent films with character works. Personally, as the movie audience, I like to go to movies like “Spider-Man” and “Con Air” but then also appreciate “Garden State” for example. I think as an actor, what makes it fun is to do it all or else you’ll get bored just doing one category. I admire that in Nic, actually. I think he’s doing really well in that sense of his career. Diane Kruger Discusses "Wicker Park" When the “Wicker Park” filmmakers were looking for an actress to play Josh Hartnett’s character’s true love, they had the foresight to cast Diane Kruger. According to producer Gary Lucchesi, Kruger’s actor/director husband Guillaume Canet made an audition tape of her, which sold the producers and director Paul McGuigan on the actress. “Diane Kruger is so incredibly beautiful and talented,” says director McGuigan, adding, “She was perfect for this part. She encompes everything Josh’s character is trying to find again; she has a wonderful grace and silent beauty, and the camera just adores her.” Told in flashbacks, “Wicker Park” is a psychological drama that deals with love and obsession. In this interview, Kruger talks about filming the movie out of order and briefly discusses her upcoming movie, “National Treasure.” INTERVIEW WITH DIANE KRUGER ('Lisa'): Did you think about this story in chronological order? Did you have scenes early on where you hadn’t yet come to the point of knowing what happened before the scene? Would you consider this a romantic film? Do you think anybody could have manipulated you away from your husband or would you have seen right through that? Did you ever worry that your character could come across as just the object of these two people’s obsessions? How did you infuse her with enough humanity that she stood on her own? Why do you think she wasn’t turned off by his obsessive approach to her? How was it working Paul McGuigan? What’s on the CD? You live in France but you’re from Germany. How did you start getting roles in America? You’ve got this one, and before this was “Troy.” Are you into French cinema? Did you see the original French film this movie’s based on? You and Rose Byrne have also worked together on “Troy.” How is it working with Rose? You’re in “Troy” with Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt, and now this one with Josh Hartnett… Have things changed for you since “Troy?” What’s the movie with Nicolas Cage? Are you involved in a lot of action scenes? Is it like “The DaVinci Code?” Do you get to kick some butts? Was there anything special you did to prepare physically for this role, or for your other films? Will we see more real stunts or more CGI in “National Treasure?” In what movie are you playing an opera singer? Diane Kruger: "Troy" Question: Was there any intimidation at all in taking on the role of the most beautiful woman who's ever walked the Earth? Diane: It's a lot of pressure. I feel like people [are] either going to go, "Yeah, I can relate to her face," or they'll be like, "What were they thinking?" But quite honestly, personally, I was much more concerned - I mean, there's not much I can do about my appearance obviously other than spending four hours in hair and makeup - but I was much more concerned to make - the part was a very challenging part for me - so I was much more concerned to look beyond that and make her more youthful, vulnerable, and show how sad she must have been from stories. So tragic. Question: Did you want more of the relationship between Helen and Paris to come across? Personally I wanted to see more of why Paris was willing to sacrifice so much for Helen... Diane: I guess the script was always like that. It's not something they cut out or whatever. I think they went with the idea that people know the story pretty much- knowing that he's going to take her when she's going to go with him. Also, the movie is really focused on Achilles and Hector and their battles. Question: What is your interpretation? Why did she go if she knew there was going to be war? Diane: What I really tried to do with Helen was make her show this sad side of her. She was married off at 16, was so young and living in this castle that can't leave because of how she looks, and married to a man she hates and three times her age. Her beauty didn't do her any good and she couldn't use it in any positive way or manipulative way. I just hope that people will look and see and believe in that hope of love, that hope of freedom, even if it was just for a limited time. It must have been so impossible to think about it and dare [to] do that, so they feel compionate for her. I don't think the movie would work otherwise. Question: Did it raise your self-esteem to be cast as the most beautiful woman in the world? Diane: For a while, I guess. It's pretty flattering. Question: Talk about the love scene with Orlando. Were you nervous about it and did you have any discussions about nudity and how much nudity should be in it? Diane: The script was very explicit about the nudity that was supposed to be in the movie. Actually, they don't show everything we shot. They would cut here and it was floored. It was very embarring. I just met him over a week ago and he had never done a love scene. I sort of have one in "Wicker Park" but never on that scale. He's in full armour and I'm getting up and I'm taking the pins out his dress and it falls off completely and he's like "Uh, huh." That's his speech. Feel free, fifty people standing around, take a good look. Also, the scene that follows when I'm on the bed was actually hard to do because I was obviously and I'm sitting up and it's an emotional scene on top of that so it made me feel very vulnerable. Question: How was working with Orlando? Diane: It was really fun. He's a really cool guy. I don't know if you get a chance to talk to him but we have the same age, and our careers started a bit similar. They hired him for "Lord of the Rings" out of drama school. He's very new at this still and doesn't have a lot of experience. So we were in this together and we've tried to help each other out. We felt very equal which was good. Question: Did he try to do anything to make the love scene more comfortable? Did he set you aside and try to calm you down? Diane: He just took me aside and actually said, "This is the first time I'm doing this." I don't think we looked at each other in the eyes for a week or so because we were so embarred by it. Question: At that time, how devastating was that dance injury to you? Did you think that your life or career was over at that point? Diane: It was pretty devastating, especially when you're 13 and you're overdramatizing everything. Looking back at it now, I really feel like it was a gift because I don't know if I have the talent to become a prima ballerina. It's such a hard job to have. I don't have any regrets about it. I really feel like the first day I went to drama school and I went up on stage, that I found my vocation. It's kind of a clichéd thing to say but I really feel like it was what I was meant to do. Question: How are you prepared for the possible onslaught of celebrity in this profession? Diane: I'm not prepared for it. I don't know how you prepare for something like that. I cannot imagine living in a fishbowl like that. I don't live here so I don't know it will be that bad anyway because I live in Paris and we don't have that sort of phenomenon there. So I don't know, we'll see what happens. Question: Is there any pressure for you to move to the United States? Diane: No, not really because I did a movie right after. Maybe, at one point, I will have to take up a place in L.A. But I think once people know you and know your work... Question: How long have you lived in Paris? Diane: About nine years. Question: What made you decide Paris out of all places? Diane: I started modelling there. They brought me over from Germany to model. I love Paris. I love the language, I love French movies. Question: Did the press give you a hard time about betraying them and moving to another part of Europe? Diane: Not so far because they don't really know who I am. They will now but so far...and I'm German and I love Germany because my family is there. Question: What language do you like to work with the most? Diane: English. It's just because it's easier because I speak in English and it's a great movie language. I love French but you need a lot more work to say the same things. Question: Where did you learn your English? Diane: Well I learned in school. I was here for four years and I work on it a lot. Just trying to get better the accent. It's really hard. Question: Did you have some fun with your husband by telling him you're the most beautiful woman in the world now? Diane: He's going to hate that I'm saying this but he doesn't tell me everyday how gorgeous I am but I was shooting in Montreal and I was gaining weight for the part and he had flown in to see me. I remember coming home and he started the shower and I was like, "Sweetie, I'm home." He looked at me and said, "Oh my god, you have to stop gaining weight. You're getting a double chin." That was the first thing he said! I hadn't seen him in four months. Question: What were you shooting in Montreal? Diane: "Wicker Park." Question: Which is the L'Appartement remake? Diane: Yes. Question: With Rose Byrne again... Diane: Yes. Funny, huh? Question: Do you play the [Monica] Belucci part in this one? Diane: Yes. Question: How different is it? Diane: Pretty different. I think Monica, in the original, is an actress. I'm a dancer in the movie. It's less that her ex-boyfriend stalks her. Question: Is it as much of a thriller as the original version was? Diane: Probably a little less. A little less of a thriller. But there's still an element of mystery. Question: What about your film with Nic Cage, "National Treasure"? Diane: I love Nic Cage. He was so much fun to work with. Question: So what can you tell us? Diane: I play a curator, the most American part you can think of. My work is to protect the Declaration of Independence. I work at the National Archives in Washington. I'm a very serious woman, sort of stuck-up. Nic Cage plays a treasure hunter. He believes there is a hidden map on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Question: Do you do it with a foreign or American accent? Diane: I try but they make me half American. Question: The other half being...? Diane: German. In "Wicker Park," I'm half-Czech I think. Question: Are there any directors you would like to work with? Diane: I really want to work with Paul Thomas Anderson. He's my favourite filmmaker. Steven Spielberg obviously, Soderbergh for sure. Question: Do you have anything beyond "National Treasure," something signed? Diane: I have two projects. I'm going to do an American independent film with Ed Harris called "Touching (or Copying?) Beethoven" which is directed by (name unable to spell) Question: Do you see yourself doing more with dance? Diane: No, not really. Question: And what was the other project? Diane: I made a French film called "Merry Christmas" which is a very European film. It's a World War I piece. It's quite a famous story that takes place on Christmas Eve, and the Germans, French, and Scottish are trying to make peace one night and they bury their dead and they play football. I play a German opera singer, in German, which I never have so I am really excited about that. Question: There seems to be an attraction between Hector and Helen and a little hint of something which Eric said "I'm glad you picked up on that"... Diane: Really? I didn't notice that. I think that in "The Iliad," there was something. You don't know what's going on. I don't think the movie went for that. Question: Did you do the karaoke party? Diane: I did. Question: What did you sing? Diane: You really want to know? The only song I can sing is "Lady in Red" so that must tell you how great it must have been. Question: What was Eric Bana like? Diane: He's a great actor. I saw the movie yesterday and was blown away. I thought he was incredible and he's a very normal guy too. He always travels with his wife and children. It's very refreshing to see and he's very committed. I really felt he was terrific in the movie. Cosmopolitan Diane Kruger Well-traveled and multilingual -- and, of course, unquestionably beautiful -- Diane Kruger has just the right blend of worldliness and innocence, as well as romance and realism, to make us sit up and take notice. Diane Kruger plays the dangerously seductive Helen in the epic blockbuster Troy, and rounds off 2004 with roles in the films Wicker Park and National Treasure. German-born Diane Kruger pursued ballet in London and modeling in Paris before becoming an actress at the age of 26. After a handful of roles in French films, Diane was picked over thousands of other women to play the mythical Helen in Wolfgang Petersen's Troy. Although thrust to the top of the Hollywood heap within two years of switching careers, Diane has the maturity to take her overnight success with a grain of salt, especially after being a first-hand witness to the meteoric rise of her Troy co-star, Orlando Bloom. Diane Kruger is cosmopolitan and practical, traits that come from spending just as much time in England and France as her native Germany. She's dedicated to her new profession, acting, and is ever concerned about making the characters she plays psychologically convincing. But at the same time, she's a bit of a romantic at heart. Diane's burgeoning cinematic expertise is a testament to her talent. In 2003, at the Cannes Film Festival, Diane was awarded the Chopard Trophy of the Revelation for Best Newcomer (for Mon idole, a.k.a. My Idol). Troy's director, Wolfgang Petersen, has praised her "charisma and artistry," and the way her roles are snowballing only proves that she's not just another pretty face. Although she plays the voluptuous Helen of Troy, in real life, Diane Kruger isn't so ual. For example, during the shooting of their love scene in Troy, Diane and Orlando Bloom felt very shy (it was only her second love scene, and his first). "It was so embarring!" she recalls. "I think we didn't look each other in the eye the whole week after that." Furthermore, we can only go so far with our iness rating -- Diane has been married to French actor Guillaume Canet (The Beach) since 2001. So unless you want to pull a "Paris" and long for Diane anyway, you have to consider her already spoken for, especially since she isn't the type to give everything up for love. Diane Kruger is an international success -- she made her mark as a model in Germany, and then as an actress, first in France and now in Hollywood. She can take pride in the fact that she's able to make it no matter where she may go. Kruger has been mostly an unknown in America, but recently she's landed on the cusp of true fame. With the exception of the TV movie The Piano Player, all her roles before Troy were in French films. But now her star turn in that blockbuster, together with her roles in 2004's Wicker Park and National Treasure, are helping audiences remember the name Diane Kruger. You'd hardly expect an actress playing Helen of Troy to be a dog, would you? So it seems almost redundant to say that Diane Kruger is an exceptionally good-looking woman -- yet she is. Her fine, dirty blonde hair and sharp features give her the stately bearing you'd expect of an Achaean queen, while her eyes are alive with a bewitching sparkle. The face that launched a thousand ships, indeed. At 5'8", Diane stands at an attractive height, too. But as a former model and ballerina, she may be a bit thin for some tastes. In fact, for her role in Troy, director Wolfgang Petersen had her gain 15 pounds to make Diane more curvaceous (she has since lost the weight). And if you're still not convinced, People magazine included this German beauty in its annual 50 Most Beautiful People in the World issue, in 2004. Since she used to be a model, it makes sense that Diane has a knack for fashion. She favors clothes that complement her slender physique and fair features. For instance, she can be seen wearing an off-white evening gown for a premiere, or a white, turtle-neck T-shirt for more casual affairs. And a pair of jeans will always look great on her in a pinch. Diane tends to keep her hair long, either tied back and naturally straight, or curled and flowing. No matter how she wears it, Diane's locks -- like the rest of her -- are invariably well-matched to what she's wearing. O'Toole Slams 'Troy' Diane Kruger: 'Wicker Park'
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