If there’s one factor you can count on being a prominent portion to any James Bond movies, it has to be the stunts. For Daniel Craig, the most recent era of 007 adventure meant a lot of scrapes with injury and extreme exercise regimens to keep the good Commander in fighting shape. But looking back on the time that Quantum of Solace star Olga Kurylenko told us about the advice she’d gotten from a stunt coordinator on that film, I appreciate the effort and intensity that goes into making a 007 movie even more.
When CinemaBlend previously spoke to Kurylenko about her experiences in preparing to play revenge seeker Camille, the action hero was given a piece of advice for which most professionals could identify. No matter what your skill or trade, what Olga Kurylenko told us below is probably going to resonate with you:
You have to do the choreography, but that's why you go for months with the stunt team and train. They make it automatic. They make it so you don't have to think, 'Oh, what's next?' They trained me so hard I could fight in my sleep. I think the stunt coordinator did say this-- 'It should be so in your blood that if I wake you up in the middle of the night, and I said go to do that scene, you should get up and know exactly what you're doing.'
Olga Kurylenko - CinemaBlend
I have to tip my hat to Quantum of Solace’s stunt coordinator Gary Powell and his team, because not only did Ms. Kurylenko truly kick ass in this underrated James Bond adventure, but those skills served her quite well in her future endeavors. Even as her role of Taskmaster required several Black Widow stunt doubles, you can see that Olga Kurylenko’s poise in the scenes where she’s present is that of a fighter.
Not to mention, the Max Payne star’s resume throughout the years has included even more opportunities for combat. Thanks to films such as The Courier, Extraction 2 and, of course, through her role in the upcoming Marvel movie Thunderbolts*, Kurylenko has become an action genre mainstay over the years. That's a happy fact to reflect on when you consider how a Quantum of Solace stunt almost killed Olga Kurylenko on the day.
I was able to hear that story for myself when I’d interviewed her on behalf of the Shudder The Room, and now that I’ve encountered this further anecdote, it shows just how much she trusted the professionals that advised her on keeping battle ready. Sometimes it’s not a question of how high you can kick, but how hard you can hang on. It’s just as important to know when to use those skills as it is to execute them.
Coming up around the same time Gal Gadot was almost cast as a Bond Girl, Olga Kurylenko certainly feels like a talent that can do a stunt on the spot if you asked her to. Provided she had the right time to train for it, of course. It’s good to know that the pro tips given to her during that production almost 20 years ago have still served her well, with more than enough evidence to prove that point rather well.
With that knowledge in mind, you can revisit Quantum of Solace on streaming thanks to the usage of a Prime Video subscription. If you’re still gearing up for Thunderbolts*, you still have a wait to get shaken and stirred in MCU fashion, as that adventure is set to debut theatrically on April 30, 2025.
