They come from very different backgrounds. One is the daughter of a Gravesend welder while the other was brought up by a single mum in a bleak, impoverished Ukrainian backwater.

But Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko have both been plucked from obscurity for roles in the new Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

Just nine months ago, Gemma, who is 22 this week, was working in a Covent Garden beauty shop.

“We had a Bond themed night a year ago and I had dress as a Bond girl and sell make-up,” says the actress who plays MI6 operative Agent Fields. “And now here I am, a real Bond girl!

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The “is-she-a-goodie, is-she-a-baddie?” Bond girl this time round is Ukraine-born Olga Kurylenko, who turned to acting after a successful modelling career in France. “James Bond didn’t get to Ukraine,” she admits. “[But] I’ve got a big box of DVDs and I’m going to be an expert.” Kurylenko has not yet started filming, having spent the last three weeks learning how to fight, fire a weapon and body fly, a form of indoor skydiving no doubt useful for those jumping out of a helicopter action scenes. “At the beginning she is an opponent but they are going to have to collaborate,” reveals Kurylenko. “We’ll see if she’s a villain.”

Source: The Guardian (click for full story)

Check out the first look of Olga as the femme fatale Camille in Quantum of Solace, courtesy of Empire Online. Read on for the full official synopsis of the movie.

LINKS:
Quantum of Solace Production Stills

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As I mentioned earlier, A press conference and then a photocall for the 22nd James Bond film, now officially titled Quantum of Solace was held earlier today. Olga, as well as Daniel Craig and fellow Bond girl Gemma Arterton were in attendance. You can now view 76 photos from this event. Hopefully the videos of the press conferences will surface online soon.

Sony Pictures has announced that the official title for the 22nd James Bond installment is Quantum of Solace. The title is taken from one of a collection of short stories published by 007 creator Ian Fleming in 1960.

The new film sees 007 (Daniel Craig) out for revenge on a mission that takes him to Austria, Italy and South America. Bond girl Camille, played by Ukrainian-born Olga Kurylenko, leads the secret agent to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), member of a mysterious organization and a ruthless businessman, seeking to control huge natural resources.

The plot follows on directly from Casino Royale, as Bond aims to uncover the truth about Vesper, the beauty who betrayed him, and discovers that she had been blackmailed.

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