Getty Images/Sunset Boulevard(LOS ANGELES) — Angelina Jolie volunteered to undergo random drug tests in order to get the part as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider, according to excerpts of a new book published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Jolie wanted the role, and director Simon West wanted her for it. But according to the book — a biography of Sherry Lansing, former Paramount CEO and the first woman to head a Hollywood studio — Jolie’s reputation, rumors about her relationship with her brother and about drug use, made the studio unsure.
“She said: ‘Look, I want to do it, but I know what my reputation is, and I’ll do anything you want to prove that I’m worthy,” West is quoted as saying in the excerpt. “She said, ‘I don’t care if the studio wants to drug test me every day.'”
A former Paramount exec says the star in fact underwent random urine and blood tests before landing the part.
But even after she got the role, the studio was concerned about Jolie, the book alleges.
A member of the movie’s production crew is quoted as saying that a team was put together, “to give her spiritual and psychological support” during the filming. But, the book alleges, the studio balked when director West wanted to hire a health expert who wanted the actress to take milk baths, and practice yoga and meditation as part of her preparation for the role.
The book, Leading Lady: Sherry Lansing and the Making of a Hollywood Groundbreaker, by author Stephen Galloway, is due April 25.
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