Los Angeles: Actress Eva Green had fun learning the nitty-gritty to ace the role of aerial artist Colette Marchant for her film “Dumbo.” She is now an aerialist for real.

“I had to train for four or five months to build a bit of muscle, because you have to be very strong as an aerialist. Your arms have to be quite strong, and you need strong abs as well. It’s like dancing in the air,” Green said in a statement.

“You try to find the right posture and the right gestures. I had the most amazing teachers: real circus people. That really helped me to get into the circus mood. Now I am an aerialist for real,” she added.

Disney’s live-action “Dumbo” is directed by Tim Burton and loosely inspired by the 1941 animated film. It stars Danny DeVito as the owner of a struggling circus. He enlists former star Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) and his children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughing stock. The film will release in India on March 29.

Why do you think the original “Dumbo” movie is still so loved?

“I grew up with the animated version and I loved the story. The story between the baby elephant and the mother really marked me as a child. It’s such a powerful, universal story, which both children and adults can connect with.”

She says the new version is “full of magic, full of poetry, and is very rich, moving, funny and spectacular.”

French actress and model Eva Gaëlle Green was born on July 6, 1980, in Paris, France. Her father, Walter Green, is a dentist who appeared in the 1966 film Au Hasard Balthazar (1966). Her mother, Marlène Jobert, is an actress turned children’s book writer.  

Eva left French school at 17. She switched to the American School in France for one year. She left the American School and studied acting at Saint Paul Drama School in Paris for three years, then had a 10-week polishing course at the Weber Douglas Academy of dramatic Art in London.

She returned to Paris as an accomplished young actress, and played on stage in several theatre productions: “La Jalousie en Trois Fax” and “Turcaret.”

There, she caught the eye of director Bernardo Bertolucci. Green followed a recommendation to work on her English. She studied for two months with an English coach before doing The Dreamers (2003) with Bernardo Bertolucci. During their work, Bertolucci described Green as being “so beautiful it’s indecent.” Green won critical acclaim for her role in The Dreamers (2003).

Agencies