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Tomb Raider 2 - Strong, Interesting Co-Stars
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 In fact, one of Angelina Jolie's hopes after signing on to do "The Cradle of Life" was to be working with strong, interesting co-stars, one of whom was her leading man, Gerard Butler ("Reign of Fire," "Timeline"). As former agent Terry Sheridan, who is sprung from a prison in Kazakhstan to lead Lara to Dr. Jonathan Reiss (Ciaran Hinds), a brilliant scientist bent on world domination, Butler brings an interesting edginess to the character."Sheridan has a romantic history with Lara and because of that intimate connection, he complicates her life," observes Butler. "He's a dangerous, unpredictable man capable of a lot of damage, and the unmistakable chemistry he has with Lara makes her vulnerable. The whole time they're together, the audience wonders if he will double cross her. His history leads you to suspect he will, but his fiery connection with Lara makes you want to believe he won't."
After an ancient artifact believed to be Pandora's Box, is Dr. Jonathan Reiss, who wants to harness the evil stored in the device to rule the world. Ciaran Hinds ("Road to Perdition," "The Sum of All Fears"), who portrays the villainous genius, was fascinated by the character and delighted to be working with Angelina Jolie.
"Jonathan Reiss is a very cold character, a man with no scruples," says Hinds. "He gets wind of this idea that there's the ultimate weapon of destruction in Pandora's Box, but Croft is way ahead of him, so it develops into a clever cat and mouse chase."
Hinds went on to say that he relished every scene he had with Jolie. "If my character is ice cold, ruthless and calculating, her character is vital, passionate and dynamic all qualities Angelina has herself. It's a given she always looks stunning," adds Hinds. "In one scene, when she loomed at me out of the darkness, her beauty actually took my breath away. All that, and the fact that Angelina is warm, funny, gregarious and a fantastic support to all those who have come into the `Tomb Raider' universe, made for a wonderful experience working on the film."
Portraying Kosa, Lara's friend from college who meets up with her when the trail to Pandora's Box leads to Africa, is Djimon Hounsou ("Amistad," "Gladiator"). Able to decipher the drawings found in the Luna Temple, he offers Lara wise counsel and later guides her through a labyrinth fraught with danger as the sinister Jonathan Reiss closes in.
"My character goes back to his roots after graduating from college in order to improve the life of the Masai," says Hounsou. "It was a very personal experience for my character, and in filming this movie, it became one for me as well. We saw sights in Kenya that were simply amazing, and in Tanzania, we filmed at the Mountain of God - a live volcano. The feeling of the ground so hot beneath my feet was extraordinary!"
When we first meet Hounsou in the film, he is driving a Jeep across the rugged terrain of the African savanna when Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) skydives through the air and lands right in the bouncing vehicle. "Driving the Jeep is just about the only stunt I do in the movie," laughs Hounsou. "I leave all the fighting up to Angelina. She's a person with a lot of grace, and it was wonderful working with her."
Providing an amusing foil for their adventurous leader are Lara Croft's right-hand men, Bryce (Noah Taylor) and Hillary (Christopher Barrie). Both actors chose to reprise their roles for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the chance to work with Angelina Jolie again.
"After the success of the first film, and after all the fun I had working on it, I was really excited to be a part of `The Cradle of Life,"' says Taylor. "The script is really strong and, like the original `Tomb Raider,' the story is quite captivating."
Barrie couldn't agree more, adding that Lara Croft's sidekick was such a great character to play the first time, he was delighted when asked to reprise the role, especially with the new cast members who came aboard.
"Both Bryce and Hillary define loyalty, and it's clear that the two of them are proud to be working with Lara as she conquers one adventure after another," says Barrie. "Part of what makes her what she is are the villains she triumphs over, and this film has some great bad guys for Bryce, Hillary and, of course Lara, to battle."
One of Germany's biggest stars, Til Schweiger, portrays Dr. Reiss' henchman Sean, someone who will do uiythi;ig his boss asks for.. "He's a brutal killing machine," says the actor, "and yet, he has some very funny lines of dialogue to counterbalance his nastiness. That's what is so great about all these characters - they're multifaceted."
Rounding out the cast of interesting villains who give Lara Croft a run for her money in "The Cradle of Life" are Chen Lo (Simon Yam), leader of the Shay-Ling bandits, and his brother Xien (Terence Yin). Yam, a major figure in the world of Hong Kong cinema whose career spans 25 years and includes over 125 films, and Yin, born in Hong Kong and educated at U.C. Berkeley in California, were both very excited to work on the project and especially with Angelina Jolie.
"During the fight scenes, I was extremely impressed with how well Angelina handled her weapons and how she did her own stunts," remembers Yam. "She's a very intelligent actress and she definitely inspired my work."
Yin says he learned a lot from working on "The Cradle of Life," and most importantly, he accomplished his goal: to not play a stereotypical Asian villain. "I always strive to make whatever character I play as true to life as possible," says Yin. "In the end, I think I've created a very authentic villain."
Authentic, charismatic and certainly dangerous, all the villains in "The Cradle of Life," not unlike many of the heroes Lara Croft encounters in the film, serve as certain proof of one thing: The world of tomb raiding is both complicated and intriguing.
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