The Dramatic Story of How Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider Was Made

And Jolie relished the chance to play Lara Croft. "She's independent, full of fire and with a strong sense of fun and adventure, and she's not afraid of anything," she told Reel, describing her character as "sensitive, curvy and not trying to be a man. Lara's all woman. She's feminine rather than feminist; she's not fighting the boys because they are boys. She will fight anybody."

To Jolie's dismay, much of the film's press attention focused on her appearance.

Fanboys had long lusted after the character, and to satisfy the audience, Jolie was asked to pad her bra. "I'll make it real simple. I'm a 36-C. In the game, she's a DD. In the movie, she's a D. We split the difference," she told Reuters in 2001. Jolie said she felt the movie version of her character was "more athletic," too. "She has smaller breasts, but she's still Lara Croft. So there!"

Becoming an action movie star wasn't always easy for Jolie, who became upset after seeing some potential product tie-ins. "I was trying really hard not to cry," she told Rolling Stone in 2001. "It was, 'Why has someone superimposed a gun right in between my legs?' or 'My breasts are big enough—why are they enhanced that much bigger?'" For Jolie, it wasn't just about herself—it was about Lara, too. "I don't like seeing her in that position. She's so much like me."

Tomb Raider debuted at No. 1 with $48.2 million, putting sequel plans into motion. "I am going to be Lara Croft again," Jolie said at a press event in London in 2001, not long after its premiere. "They are writing another one. If we can make it a hundred times better, then we will do it." And so, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life premiered in 2003 to even better reviews. However, it only grossed $156 million at the box office compared to the first film's $274 million.

In between films, Jolie's marriage to actor Billy Bob Thornton ended and her estrangement from father Jon Voight began—and she adopted her first child. (Jolie and Voight have since reconciled, and the actress now has six children in total.) "I'm OK," she assured People in 2003. "Actually I'm better than ever. I feel I'm finally living the life I should be living, and I haven't had that feeling before." With her attention now turned towards motherhood and humanitarian issues, the actress' "bad girl" reputation has faded into memory, but her legacy as Lara lives on.

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