Neve Campbell Turned Down Lara Croft Tomb Raider Role Before Angelina Jolie Was Cast

Neve Campbell has revealed that she was the original pick to play Lara Croft in the first Tomb Raider movie.

In a new interview with BuzzFeed UK, the Scream star was asked if there’d been any major roles she’d said no to over the course of her career, to which she confirmed: “I turned down Lara Croft.”

The role would eventually go to Angelina Jolie, who brought the iconic video game character to life in two action movies.

The character was later played on the big screen by Oscar winner Alicia Vikander, with Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner currently shooting a new TV series in which she’ll play the Tomb Raider heroine.

“You make the choices that you make at the time,” Neve added during her BuzzFeed interview. “But certain ones I wasn’t available for, as well.

“Because I was so busy during Party Of Five, that took up 10 months of my year for six years. But listen, I’m grateful for everything that I’ve had.”

Neve went on to share that she also bagged the lead in Pearl Harbour opposite Ben Affleck, but had to withdraw due to scheduling issues.

“I kicked ass on that audition,” she recalled with a laugh. “I learned Japanese – I had my lines translated, and I went in and spoke Japanese in the audition. And I got it! But I couldn’t do it. And I worked really hard!”

To horror fans, Neve is best known for her performance as Sydney Prescott in the first five Scream movies.

Ahead of the sixth, she made the decision not to return due to issues relating to pay.

However, she’s due to appear in the seventh, although the production has been marred with controversy over the decision to drop lead actor Melissa Barrera after she voiced her support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.