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Alex Bailey/Paramount Pictures. Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, fresh off filming Tomb Raider in Cambodia.

WEB-ONLY EXCLUSIVE
'My Whole Life Has Changed With This Role'
Angelina Jolie on Lara Croft, Cambodia, and husband Billy Bob Thornton
By STEPHEN SHORT

December 11, 2000
Web posted at 7:00 p.m. Hong Kong time, 6:00 a.m. EDT

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(Re)making of an Icon
Angelina Jolie gets tough and buff in the Cambodian jungle to play video-game heroine Lara Croft

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie stars as video-game heroine Lara Croft in the movie adaptation of Tomb Raider. The 25-year-old Hollywood star, filming on site at Cambodia's Angkor Wat, spoke to TIME Asia entertainment correspondent Stephen Short about the joys of location shoots and how this physically demanding role has changed her life. Edited excerpts:

TIME: What were your first thoughts when you heard about this project?
Jolie: I thought it was going to be what everybody else still thinks its going to be. But there is no way I would have wanted to do that kind of film. Then I met Simon West and he talked about how he saw Lara Croft and what he didn't want to do with the film. I really felt it was right at that point in my life to accept the role. I was finally at a place where I was ready to step forward, and not shy from it. I then had four months of intense training and I got to learn so much about myself. So it was perfect. I feel really lucky.

TIME: It's such a heady cocktail, you, Lara Croft and Angkor Wat.
Jolie: The great thing about the film is that it transgresses everything from ancient myths to modern day technology. I think everyone who follows the game will feel that it's their film. I think we've done it justice, though I'm feeling nervous playing Croft.

TIME: And you'll have to play her again in the sequel.
Jolie: Yeah, it's great. It's like somebody coming up and saying to you, "You're going to spend your life learning about other people in other countries, and learning new skills." I'm actually living out her life, riding motorcycles through things, going bungee jumping, standing on top of a waterfall...she and I are living out this bizarre existence. The weirdest thing is that I actually came to a point in my life where I really didn't want to be an actress. I'm human after all. Though now I've taken on the personality of someone who's a tomb raider. I'm no longer a Hollywood actor. I've changed jobs and nobody's noticed.

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TIME: God, this place is so you.
Jolie: My whole life has changed in the past eight months, spiritually, physically... Suddenly the world looks different, and it's wonderful. There's so much we don't know about the world. I feel I'm becoming a student of life and the world.

TIME: How feminine is Lara?
Jolie: The thing I really love about her and the thing that was most important to me is that she's not a man-hating feminist. She's not somebody who wants to be anything other than what she is. She's sensual, sexy, intelligent, wicked, and she has a weird sense of humor. She's also playful and a bit nutty and she loves danger. I haven't seen or met anybody in a long time that just made me really happy.

TIME: Is Simon West the right director for this project?
Jolie: Simon's a really nice guy. I just jumped in as one of the boys on this project and if it hadn't been for him I couldn't have done that. He's got a great imagination and he is fascinated with Angkor Wat.

TIME: Your wedding ring has some connection with the movie, right?
Jolie: It's quite weird. Billy [Bob Thornton] and I ran off to Vegas and found a ring with a weird symbol on it. We couldn't wait any longer for the parent thing so we just got married. We got married the day the planet's aligned, and my wedding ring turned out to be an Egyptian eye. And this whole film is about the all-seeing eye and the planet's aligning. It's bizarre. Everywhere I go I see this symbol in the film. It's an ancient story about two craftsmen who separate two pieces, and if the pieces come back together and the planet's align, then the world will be O.K. So we're doing things that are real stories. It's not fake -- it's not made up.

TIME: Were you familiar with Lara and the game Tomb Raider?
Jolie: Yes, Billy's kids have the game. I've tried to play it but it's difficult. Now I'm being taught all the secrets of the game, so that's exciting. When I was married to Jonny [Lee Miller] he'd play it and that used to drive me crazy. Like every woman, I'd go, "Ugh, her!" Now there's a woman that makes me look average and feel inferior. I hated her. I'm praying now that I can live up to her. She's human now, but she's more wicked than cute. She's more warrior woman than plaything. She's a female 007 or Indiana Jones.

TIME: How physically tough is it playing Lara?
Jolie: I run on walls and go bungee jumping, and then there's the sword fights, log rolls, and spear throwing. I work my backside off. The most difficult thing was walking backwards on a bamboo ladder while trying to reload a gun. I had to shoot and reload while I was climbing up and down the ladder, until I killed this thing.

TIME: What surprised you most about playing her?
Jolie: People say to me, "you're a serious actress playing an action movie," but this is the hardest thing I've ever done. I didn't really think that it would be so great, and now I can't wait to star in the sequel. As an actor you don't ever really do roles that you want to go back to, but this is different. I've never had young kids come up to me before and ask for my autograph, or Lara's. And it makes them sooo happy. Lara lends a world to them. They created her and can live vicariously through her -- that feels special.

TIME: You really have the right look for this movie, it's perfect.
Jolie: Its bizarre. All the reasons I'm right for this movie are all the reasons I haven't been right for in the past. I was always told I was too dark, too strange looking, or that I couldn't play a particular part because there was something "off" about me. They never wanted me. So thank god for the parts I was given. I'm either really right for something or just really, really wrong. Playing Lara means I can be myself. I'm like, why does this feel so normal?

TIME: Yeah, you sitting with me in the Angkor Wat temple, barefoot while wearing a monk's outfit, that's really normal Angelina.
Jolie: Yeah, yeah. But you know what I mean.

TIME: Where to after this?
Jolie: England to get hit by a tidal wave and do some dog sledding in a studio. I also can't wait to get back to Billy. I've been away from him for so long, it aches. I saw a picture of him the other day and that makes it even harder. I really go crazy when I'm away from him. And using the phone here in Cambodia is a nightmare. When I finally get through to him and try to say something romantic, all you hear is "what, can't hear you?" Trying to be sexy on a cell phone in Angkor Wat doesn't work.

TIME: Does he have pet names for you?
Jolie: Yep, everything imaginable. He's just "sexy" to me. I sometimes call him "lunch." I've called him that a few times, as well as "breakfast" and "dinner."

TIME: Would he consider you high maintenance?
Jolie: No. I'm low maintenance, to a silly point, where people keep yelling at me for not taking care of myself.

TIME: Finally, what do you think of Cambodia?
Jolie: It's a very romantic and special place. The peace and quiet is amazing. And if Billy were here, my god, he'd be overwhelmed by it. I'll have to find a way to share it with him.