Diane Kruger finds doing stunts a “pain in the ass”. The German actress stars alongside Northern Irish star Liam Neeson in new movie Unknown, and admits although she has a stunt double she did have to do some of the hard work.
She said: “I rescue Liam from a sinking car. I’m not afraid of water, but it’s very tiring work diving down and under, breaking the glass and pulling him out.
“They had a stunt double there for me, but after doing it for two days, you get to the point where you might as well get your close-up. It’s a pain in the a*s anyway. So there ends up being one shot that made it into the movie, and I’m glad it’s there. You can see it’s me, and it lends realism to the scene. I felt like it was an accomplishment for me to pull that off.”
Diane also reveals Liam – who doesn’t do his own movie stunts – was “a little scared” while the pair were involved in one particular driving scene, requiring the director Jaume Collet-Serra to stick up for her.
She joked: “I did my own driving during the action sequences in the film, and I know Liam was a little scared in the back seat. But the director said I was a good driver. He stood up for me.”
In her latest film, Diane Kruger starred alongside Liam Neeson as a refugee cab driver in Unknown. She shared with us how her upbringing gave her a unique perspective on shooting the film in Germany.
Parts of the film Unknown were shot on location in Berlin. As a native German, how have you noticed the city change since the wall came down?
Diane Kruger : Berlin is still going through a transition since the Cold War — both in what used to be East and West Berlin. I can still sense the confusion and the struggle for identity there in the streets. There’s a pulse to it. In the film, I play an Eastern European immigrant — a refugee from the civil war in the Balkans. Since I’m from Europe, I know the Bosnian/Yugoslavian war is still very much on everyone’s mind. In Europe, it’s still talked about and remembered. Being born in Germany myself, I know many immigrants from the war-torn countries. So, the role in Unknown registered for me.Besides working with Liam Neeson, what else drew you to the part?
DK : It’s obviously a character with a backstory and not your regular-girl companion role. I enjoyed the fact that it’s action-oriented and an interesting thriller. That gave me a chance to try some things I hadn’t tried before. I get to save Liam in the story, so it’s nice to play a woman with some resourcefulness.How do you end up saving one of Hollywood’s top stars?
DK : I rescue Liam from a sinking car. I’m not afraid of water, but it’s very tiring work diving down and under, breaking the glass and pulling him out. They had a stunt double there for me, but after doing it for two days, you get to the point where you might as well get your closeup. It’s a pain in the ass anyway. So there ends up being one shot that made it into the movie, and I’m glad it’s there. You can see it’s me, and it lends realism to the scene. I felt like it was an accomplishment for me to pull that off. I did my own driving during the action sequences in the film, and I know Liam was a little scared in the back seat. But the director said I was a good driver. He stood up for me.
Diane Kruger reckons starring in Inglourious Basterds made Hollywood realise she is a tough girl. The German born ex-model said her role in the Quentin Tarantino World War II film – where she plays a straight talking German actress secretly working with the Allies – has helped her avoid being typecast as a romantic interest for male leads.
Speaking about her latest role as a Bosnian taxi driver in action film Unknown, she said:
“I feel like before ‘Inglourious Basterds’, in America, they would’ve probably offered me the part played by January Jones in the film, because that’s a more obvious part for me to play. So I loved it that they offered me this. It’s cool to think they said, ‘Illegal Bosnian immigrant taxi driver – let’s get Diane Kruger!’ I’m not sure that would’ve been the obvious thing before. I think I was perceived as such a European, dainty, pretty actress.”
Diane also revealed her character – who helps co-star Liam Neeson’s character when he wakes up after an accident to realize no-one recognizes him and his identity has been stolen – has had a traumatic past.
She added to Britain’s Independent newspaper: “Obviously, this is not the kind of movie that is going to go into any deep detail. But we learn that she’s watched her entire family be assassinated. And I just thought it was interesting in a movie like this – a genre film – to have a little bit of a social background.”
I’ve been going through the gallery replacing many of the photo shoots with high quality untagged versions. Now we can all enjoy the gorgeous photo shoots of Diane without the site tags displayed! I hope to be able to replace ALL photo shoot images with untagged versions eventually.
In the meantime, enjoy some of my favourite shoots of Diane tag-free! Head over to the gallery for the latest additions.
Gallery Links:
- Home > Studio Photo Shoots
The actress – who has been dating Jackson since 2006 – said that he encourages her to “ask more questions”, rather than accepting everything at face value. The Daily Star quotes Kruger as saying:
“Josh is someone who is very grounded. He is very curious and is someone who always reads and is very politically engaged. He awakened the urge to ask more questions. You can take so many things for granted, because you read them and think it must be true, and he’s not like that.”
She added that he has also inspired her to work on other parts of her personality, saying: “That’s my thing in my 30s. I want to work on ‘me’ much more… Getting older, I realised I didn’t know anything. I felt incredibly stupid.
“I’ve always been very self-righteous. I’ve always been like, ‘I speak three different languages, I’m so accomplished’. And everyone tells me, ‘You’re so pretty’, and then it was a big realisation that I don’t understand anything, that I feel like I’m not cultured enough, that I’m stupid sometimes.”
To my absolutely delight, I’ve added even more photos of Diane at the Cesar Film Awards 2011. Diane was on-hand to honour Inglourious Basterds writer/director, Quentin Tarantino. Head over to the gallery for the latest additions.
Gallery Links:
- Home > Public Appearances > From 2011 > Cesar Film Awards 2011 – Arrivals
- Home > Public Appearances > From 2011 > Cesar Film Awards 2011 – Ceremony
Diane is currently in Paris attending the Cesar Film Awards 2011. I have added the first batch of released pictures of Diane arriving at the ceremony into the gallery. Hopefully a lot more images of Diane will be released throughout the evening. Head over to the gallery for the latest additions.
Gallery Links:
- Home > Public Appearances > From 2011 > Cesar Film Awards 2011 – Arrivals
I’ve added an additional 50 high quality images of Diane at the 61th Berlin Film Festival for the Unknown premiere. Just a reminder, “Unknown” is now in theatres! Head over to the gallery for the latest additions.
Gallery Links:
- Home > Public Appearances > From 2011 > 61th Berlin Film Festival – “Unknown” Premiere
While doing a press junket for the newly released film, Unknown, Diane revealed her most morbid job to www.ontheredcarpet.com. Take a look below, can you guess what it was?
As the 61th Berlin Film Festival wraps up, Diane attended the Award Ceremony wearing a gorgeous backless gown! Head over to the gallery for the latest additions.
Gallery Links:
- Home > Public Appearances > From 2011 > 61th Berlin Film Festival – Award Ceremony Arrivals
- Home > Public Appearances > From 2011 > 61th Berlin Film Festival – Award Ceremony Audience
