The Big Picture

Eva Green was drawn to the role of Milady in The Three Musketeers because of the character’s complexity and the opportunity to show a different side of her. Green enjoyed playing a chameleonic character who constantly changes her identity, adapting to different situations and people. The filming experience for The Three Musketeers was intense, with a big budget, immersive action sequences, and the opportunity to film in real castles and scenery.

Eva Green is no stranger to playing complex women. Throughout her career, the French actress has inhabited everyone from queens of ancient history to the woman that Daniel Craig’s James Bond arguably never got over. Now, she’s taking on one of the most iconic female characters in literature as the diabolical spy Milady de Winter in Martin Bourboulon’s two-part epic The Three Musketeers, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas. It’s a project the likes of which has been years in the making, and not just for Bourboulon as a director, but also for the many actors who are lending their skills to this big-budget adaptation. If you can believe it, over 60 years have passed since France made their last Three Musketeers retelling, and that means that this version was highly anticipated in more than one sense.

François Civil plays D’Artagnan, the wide-eyed young man who has aspirations of becoming a member of the King’s (Louis Garrel) Musketeers, only to get swept up in a grander adventure than he ever could have imagined. Along the way, he finds himself in the company of the Three Musketeers themselves — Athos (Vincent Cassel), Aramis (Romain Duris), and Porthos (Pio Marmaï) — and harbors the potential of new love with the beautiful Constance (Lyna Khoudri). But betrayal and intrigue also lie just around the corner, and it is within these shadows that Cardinal Richelieu (Éric Ruf) and his most loyal lieutenant Milady (Green) plot their biggest treachery yet.

On the day of The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan’s U.S. theatrical release (with the second part, Milady, slated for release at a date yet to be announced), Collider was given the opportunity to speak to some of the stars of the film, including Green. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, the actress behind Milady discusses what first drew her to the role at this point in her career, what she enjoys about getting to play such a chameleonic character, and how Bourboulon’s one-take technique for action sequences gave her the chance to revel in being more physical. She also discusses playing another romantically linked pair with Vincent Cassel after co-starring with him in this year’s Liaison on Apple TV+, how the film changes Milady’s backstory from the Dumas novel, and more.

The Three Musketeers – Part I: D’Artagnan Release Date April 5, 2023 Director Martin Bourboulon Runtime 121 minutes Writers Matthieu Delaporte , Alexandre de La Patellière , Alexandre Dumas père

Eva Green Was Drawn to a New Version of Milady
Image via Pathe

COLLIDER: In your career, you’ve played so many fabulous women — some fictional, some based in history — and Milady is one of the most iconic female antagonists in literature. What was it about this role, this project, that appealed to you at this stage in your career?

EVA GREEN: It is true, the role of Milady is kind of daunting. It’s such an iconic role. You’re always scared when you go into this that it’s going to be cliché. And also, to tell you the truth, lots of people will put me in the femme fatale box, so I’m like, “Oh, watch out. Are they going to mention this again?” I really wanted to get on board when I read the whole thing, the two scripts. In the first part, she’s very Milady, very driven by vengeance, a harsh exterior, a seductress, a chameleon, but then in the second part, you discover another side of her. I love the fact that the writers invented this backstory, and we understand why she became such a ruthless protagonist. There’s some real depth to her, and you see the fragile woman, the wounds, and I thought that was something that we’d never seen in the other adaptations.

I’m glad you brought up the word “chameleon,” which is literally the thought that I had watching this first film. Coinciding with her profession, knowing how to change her identity is helpful in this line of work. How much did that appeal as well, getting to play someone who is playing other people most of the time?

GREEN: That was fun. One of my favorite scenes in the first film is the one when she’s playing Isabelle de Valcour, with the blonde wig, playing the fragile damsel in distress. That was just fun because, also, her voice changes a bit. It’s more in the chest and kind of lighter, and she adapts to who she has in front of her. Instinctively, she transforms into what she feels like the person needs, and so that was fun. I remember François, who plays D’Artagnan, wanted to giggle a few times because it was a fun scene.

I did a lot of prep, also, with the costume designer, Thierry Delettre, because the looks are so major in this, so we tried to keep the glamour but add a bit of modern touch. He had this amazing idea to have leather pants underneath my dresses, that it would be quite handy if she had to fight in case something went wrong, and knives hidden in my hair. It was quite fun to play somebody so ballsy.

This is an epic project, to say the least, filming for 150 days back-to-back. What was that experience like, working on a film with this budget, this scope, this amount of support behind it, as an actor?

GREEN: I didn’t film for all these days, I came on board quite late, but it’s a very big budget for France. I was very impressed by the work, for instance, on the stunts. I loved this filming [in] subjective camera, so immersive. You follow the characters all in one shot. So, the actors worked a lot on the choreography, and you can’t fuck it up, because if one person makes a mistake then you have to go all the way back, so it required a lot of prep. And to be able to film in real castles and the scenery as well. I had the chance to have a few scenes in the first film by the cliffs in Étretat, Normandy. It was just really magical. It’s such a luxury to not have green screen and to be in the real world.

Eva Green Tackled One of Her Biggest Fears for ‘The Three Musketeers’
Image via Samuel Goldwyn Films

To your point, there’s so much intense stuntwork in this movie, and it’s a thrill to get to see you and your character in a position where she gets to participate in the action. I haven’t seen Part Two yet, but based on the trailers, there’s some swordplay involved. How much of that did you have to learn how to do? How much were you allowed to do yourself?

GREEN: Because Martin, the director, loves doing action sequences in one shot, actors do most of the action, which is a bit scary, especially. I have a big fight in the second movie. But I love being physical because it gives you the opportunity to prep. I had amazing stunt guys who taught me some martial arts, and that helped me to find the core of the character, as well, the strength. It made me feel confident. And then they had the horse riding, which I was not very keen [on], but then they had a really strong team, and it was so liberating to be able to gallop and gallop through the fields.

I was going to ask about the horse riding. I understand that there might have been some trepidation.

GREEN: I did some horse riding as a child and in movies, but I don’t trust them…unless [they’re] very old and dying. But those horses, I think they were Spanish or something, and they trained them. They’re very calm, and they understand everything, and they’re kind of not real. There’s something quite magical, so I felt confident. Every time I do a movie, if there is horse riding, I will have to work with those people. [Laughs]

Related ‘The Three Musketeers’: Release Date, Trailer, and Everything We Know So Far About the French Duology The latest adaptation introduces the first real-life Black musketeer in French history to the classic story.

You referenced working with François, and the relationship between Milady and D’Artagnan is so fascinating in this movie. They just keep ending up in each other’s crosshairs, much to Milady’s chagrin. From your perspective, do you think he is ultimately a means to an end for her or does she, deep down, acknowledge that there’s a connection there in some form?

GREEN: The relationship is quite ambiguous. You see more in the second part. Of course, she tries to seduce him several times. What’s interesting, I know that it’s really for the first movie, but it is ambiguous, and it feels like she is more herself with him, that she acts less — unless she is in the first film wearing a blonde wig, and she is another person — but there’s something more direct with him. Sometimes you wonder: does she have any feelings towards him? It is a kind of enigmatic relationship.

In the first movie, nothing really comes to the surface. There’s a mask that she’s wearing, and you don’t really know what drives her. You know there is something, she’s kind of obsessive. She’s extremely contained, but then we see all the colors in the second film. For me, what makes her interesting is her humanity as well.

Those who know the Dumas book know that Milady has a hidden past. You mentioned that there were changes that were made there for the film. What does that do for her character to expand her backstory, make her motivations more complex?

GREEN: In the Dumas novel, there’s something quite psychotic about her, and she has a past — but she is 100% evil, I would say. Quite bonkers, which I love. It’s very interesting. But what I like here is that she was kind of traumatized in a relationship, and she was heartbroken, and she was betrayed, humiliated, and so in order to survive, she built that armor. I thought it was an interesting new version.

Eva Green’s Previous Experience Working With Vincent Cassel Came in Handy
Image via Pathe

This is not the first project where you and Vincent Cassel have played two people with a past romantic connection. What did you enjoy about getting to explore the intricacies of the relationship in this film compared to your characters in Liaison?

GREEN: Funny enough, my first scene filming was in the second part, and it’s a very, very important scene with him, so that was quite scary. I didn’t even know the crew or anything and I had that big, tragic scene, and I was grateful that I knew him. I knew the animal. [Laughs] I knew the energy of Vincent, and I’ve imagined him before when doing the scene. So that was so helpful that we’d worked together before. It’s interesting that we have a tormented past. Go figure. It was a really nice experience to work with him. He’s fascinating and he is amazing. In the second movie, he’s actually even better. He’s so contained, but there’s something very moving about him.

THE THREE MUSKETEERS – PART I: D’ARTAGNAN is in theaters now.

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