Angelina Jolie Almost Ruined Lara Croft – The Game That Drove Her Crazy

Before she became one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Angelina Jolie was already making waves in Hollywood, winning an Academy Award for Girl, Interrupted and delivering a string of acclaimed performances. But it was her turn as the daring adventurer in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) that truly catapulted her into global superstardom. Ironically, though, Jolie once despised the character that would help define the early part of her career.

Directed by Simon West and based on the wildly popular Tomb Raider video game series, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider brought the iconic British archaeologist to the big screen for the first time. While the movie scored at the box office, critics were far less kind, lambasting the film’s narrative while still praising Jolie’s commanding performance. Yet few fans realize that Jolie’s first encounter with Lara Croft left her with anything but admiration.

In a revealing interview with the BBC, Jolie confessed that she initially “hated” the character of Lara Croft. Her frustration stemmed not from the movie script, but from her personal experience with the video game itself—an experience tied to her then-husband, actor Jonny Lee Miller.

“Maybe there was something to Jonny playing it years ago and me just hating this woman, because she kept my husband up all night at the time,” Jolie joked. Beyond mere annoyance, Jolie admitted that she was “terrible at the game,” adding, “I kill her constantly, which I love to do because she makes these little sounds that I’m very fond of.”

Despite her early disdain for Lara, Jolie eventually embraced the role. Understanding that the challenge was to take a beloved, if two-dimensional, video game icon and mold her into a character with real emotions, Jolie found a way to make Croft her own. Reflecting on the evolution of the character for the sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003), she noted, “There’s a video game character that a lot of people like, and you want to start transferring her to life without ruining what they like about her. But we didn’t know what she fears, what she loves, and what makes her laugh.”

Interestingly, Jolie wasn’t the only big name on set with mixed feelings about the project. Daniel Craig, who played a supporting role in the first Tomb Raider film, later described it as “the worst mistake” of his career, citing a chaotic script and a confusing production process.

While Lara Croft: Tomb Raider wasn’t a critical darling, it cemented Jolie’s reputation as a box office draw and action star. And even though the sequel, directed by Jan de Bont, was considered a modest improvement, it failed to replicate the first film’s financial success.

Still, what began as a personal annoyance transformed into one of the most defining and enduring roles of Jolie’s early career. In the end, her journey with Lara Croft mirrors her own evolution—turning skepticism into strength and breathing life into a character once trapped by the confines of pixels and joysticks.