Angelina Jolie has always been the one to crank the excitement level up to a hundred when it comes to taking risks. With decades in the industry, the actress is celebrated for her distinctive roles and unconventional project choices, which still do not fail to captivate her fans. There was a time when she aspired to be the next James Bond, although fate led her to the role of Salt instead. Regardless of this detour, she poured her heart and soul into the character, and her permanent scar is a testament to it.

Angelina Jolie

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Angelina Jolie Wanted to Be the Next James Bond

Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie, who possesses unparalleled talent, aspired to redefine the iconic British detective billion-dollar franchise. Her ambition led her to desire a coveted spot among the esteemed actors who have portrayed Bond on-screen. At one point, she was even extended the offer to be the classic Bond girl in a 007 film, Jolie once revealed to Vanity Fair (via Far Out Magazine),

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“It started with a call from Amy [Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures],—She asked if I wanted to play a Bond girl. I said, ‘No, I’m not comfortable with that, but I would like to play Bond.’ “

Angelina Jolie in SALT.

Regrettably, the initial idea of having the actress portray James Bond never materialized. Thus, she swiftly transitioned to another project, Salt. Although the notion of Jolie stepping into the iconic James Bond role was pretty interesting, people were still skeptical, but Pascal saw the potential for something grander. Jolie was thus picked for the role of a proper action heroine of Evelyn Salt.

Angelina Jolie Scarred Her Face Permanently While Filming This Movie

In her intense training for the movie Salt, Jolie delved into a vibrant fusion of Muay Thai and Krav Maga techniques. Her daunting stunts included crossing a narrow ledge atop a soaring 12-story building and jumping off a highway underpass onto a moving truck. But unexpectedly, it was a deceptively simple scene that posed her most significant challenge, resulting in a lasting scar on her face. Her stunt trainer Simon Crane revealed to Us Weekly,

“During her final fight with Liev [Schrieber] … She had to dive through an opening door firing a gun … as she carried the sequence on, she rushed into a corner piece of a set and bumped her head.”

Angelina Jolie in Salt

She also then explained how Salt shatters the conventional norms that typically define a Bond movie, unveiling a refreshing perspective on espionage and cinematic storytelling. She stated in the same Vanity Fair interview,

“Salt is nothing like Bond,–In so many films, women are femme fatales, and we wanted to avoid that. My character doesn’t use her 𝓈ℯ𝓍uality to get anything. It’s the roughest I’ve looked. When we fight, it gets ugly. Somebody breaks my nose in the film. It’s not pretty.–I think when people write things for women – at least with the films I’ve done in the past, such as Tomb Raider – they’re not serious,–They’re not raw. They’re not hard. So when we wanted a real female action hero, we looked towards something that wasn’t written for a woman.”

All in all, even though Jolie had the potential to portray Bond, she found joy in the way everything else unfolded, and so did her fans.