My mother taught me to act as if you’re not scared of anything, says Eva Green

London: Eva Green, who has been hailed as one of the best Bond girls ever following her role as Vesper Lynd in ‘Casino Royale’, has revealed the warnings her mother gave her regarding acting.

The 32-year-old French actress made her controversial screen debut three years before then in ‘The Dreamers’ in which she spent much of the film naked. “MY mother Marlene Jobert was scared for me to become an actress like her. She knew I was too sensitive and fragile,” the Sun quoted her as saying. “So I have learned from her how to appear to be tougher than I really am. She said: ‘You want to be an actress? Then act as if you are not scared of anything’. “Her advice made me feel alive. I was constantly encouraged to express myself and truly live my life. “After doing three years at a drama school in Paris, I moved to England to do more training and try to perfect my English. “My father, Walter, is Swedish, so I am a real mix of nations. My mother was worried for me taking my first big film, The Dreamers. “It was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, famous for Last Tango In Paris and the sex scene between Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. “She was scared because of the myth of Maria Schneider being traumatised by the scene and the filming. Things did go wrong for her afterwards. (The actress had drug problems.) The sex scenes were quite full on and frank in The Dreamers. It was originally going to be Jake Gyllenhaal as the male lead but he had a problem with the full frontal nudity. “The actor Michael Pitt took over instead. There was one scene in which he genuinely had to become aroused, but that was very difficult for him. It is not easy, unless you are a porn actor. “I had a scene in which my own character has to lose her virginity. I had to remember how I felt when I first had sex. I am so reserved in real life, but I surprised myself completely. “I was asked if I wanted some alcohol before some of the scenes, and admit that I did have some whisky. There was a breaking of the ice before the sex scene. “The actor Louis Garrel came into my trailer and said: ‘I will show you my d*** if you show me your breasts’. “So I did, and he did. He said to me: ‘They look great’. “So when it came to the sex scenes, it made it a little easier. “But I hated my body. My mother understands how genuinely shy I am. She knows I am body conscious. Although she is concerned about appearances, like all actors, she anticipated something we are so often asked in acting - to lose weight. “She would tell me: ‘You have a great figure. Do not go on a diet, just because someone asks you to do so for a film.’ “Sure enough, I have been asked to lose weight for a film, not the Bond film, where they were happy with my figure. My mother’s words of warning flashed up and I did not go on a diet,” she added. ANI