- Sophie Marceau, La Boum, France, 1980. The future star was among the kids seen by realisatuer Claude Pinoteau and his casting director Françoise Ménidrey for the role that made a star of the ex-Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu… who chose her new name from one of the Paris avenues or boulevards.
- Sophie Duez, Marche a l’ombre, France, l984. Vedette-turned-réalisateur Michel Blanc met Mathilda on her debut, Little Nemo, 1984, and signed her but US director Tobe Hooper interferred. Her signed her to nude her way through Lifeforce, 1985.
- Emmanuelle Béart, L’Amour en douce, France, 1984. For their third film together, réalisateur Édouard Molinaro and young star Daniel Auteuil required a special leading lady. Molinaro’s wife, Catherine, was sent on the hunt and short tests with about 20 actresses “prometteuses” – such as Mathilda May, Anne Parillaud… and sjnger Guy Béart’s beautiful daughter – “so fresh and with an interesting spontaneity.” Auteuil felt much the same. The couple wed in 1993 and made Manon des Sources and a daughter together and divorced in 1995.
- Valentina Vagras, Der Name der Rose/The Name of the Rose, France-Italy-West Germany, 1986. Once upon a time the casting tres français with Michel Galabru, Yes Montand Philippe Noiret and Jean Rochefort also up for roles. When May was delayed on Lifeforce ((equally nude), réalisateur Jean-Jacques Annaud let the Chilean beauty improvise her mute seduction of Christian Slater’s novice monk and didn’t warn him so his responses would be more genuine.
- Maryam d’Abo, The Living Daylights, 1986.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sherazade, France-Italy, 1989. Neither one seemed really interested.
- Madeleine Stowe, Revenge, 1990. “Only rarely have I happened to play a normal girl,” said Mathilda, the actress described by veteran New Wave realisateur Claude Chabrol as ” a beautiful girl who performs like an ugly one.”
- Lara Harris, The Fourth War, l990. Now Naked Tango rehearsals interferred… John Frankenheimer had changed the US Army girl into a Czech, so his choices were limited. Having worked with Yves Montand, Dominique Sanda, Marthe Keller, the director told himself: “Hey, don’t cast some beautiful foreign girl who’s unable to say the lines… Most foreign actors haven’t a clue how to act in English.” He got his agent to find an UK/US girl who’d spent much time in Europe, could speak other languages and, perhaps, come up with the correct accent. With three weeks to go, enter: Harris, American, fluent in Russian, French, “exploding off the screen.” Like the movie, she was never heard of again.
- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1990. Elizabeth Hurley, Patsy Kensit, Nicole Kidman, Amanda Pays, Joely Richardson, Ally Sheedy were in the Sherwood mix for Maid Marian – won by an an Italo-American! Well, two French stars, May and Sophie Marceau, had also been seen.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 9