How to Get Cast in a ‘Tomb Raider’ Production

The “Tomb Raider” video-game franchise follows British archaeologist Lara Croft as she explores ancient ruins and—you guessed it—tombs in her search for lost artifacts. In the first film adaptation, Croft must do all she can to retrieve a stolen clock that holds the key to reclaiming the Triangle of Light, an ancient relic with the power to control time. In the second film, Croft must find a magical orb that will serve as a map to find and recover Pandora’s Box, which supposedly contains a deadly plague. The 2018 reboot, starring Alicia Vikander, follows Croft as she reluctantly accepts her inheritance amid her father’s mysterious disappearance. He leaves a message detailing his research on a mythical queen who has power over life and death, but Croft ignores his request to destroy the information, as she believes his findings will help her uncover his whereabouts and prove he’s not dead. No plot details have been revealed for Prime Video’s adaptation as of yet.

Jolie was the first to don the long braid in the “Tomb Raider” universe, with 2001’s “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” She starred alongside Daniel Craig as Alex West. While the film received lukewarm reviews, Jolie returned—alongside Gerard Butler’s Terry Sheridan—in 2003’s sequel, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider—The Cradle of Life.”

In 2018, the franchise received the reboot treatment with “Tomb Raider,” starring Vikander. That film also received mixed reviews.

In 2024, Netflix debuted its animated adaptation, “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.” Hayley Atwell voices the lead, and the series features several other prominent voiceover actors, such as Earl Baylon. According to the streamer, following a successful Season 1, the series received the green light for another installment. 

As for Prime Video’s new show, Deadline broke the news in November 2024 that Turner is in talks to assume the lead role. At this time, no one else is attached to the project.

Sarah Halley Finn (“The Mandalorian”), Daniel Hubbard (“King Kong”), Ros Hubbard (“The Mummy”), and John Hubbard (“The Lord of the Rings” trilogy) cast “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.” Daniel and John returned to cast “The Cradle of Life.” Susie Figgis (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”) cast the 2018 “Tomb Raider,” and Meredith Layne (“Hercules”) cast the animated “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.” No casting director has been linked to the upcoming Prime Video series yet.

“Tomb Raider” (2018) Credit: Lifestyle pictures / Alamy Stock Photo

Although Jolie was the first to portray Lara Croft on the big screen, director Simon West had to fight for her. Not only was West dealing with a market that wasn’t yet accustomed to women-led summer blockbusters, but he was also met with opposition from studio execs, who thought Jolie’s reputation was too “dark” at the time.

“There hadn’t been a female lead of an action-adventure film that had carried a film [by herself recently], and Angelina wasn’t as big as some of the other actresses that were up for the part, who’d done bigger films and had a longer track record and bigger box-office grosses,” West told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. “Some of their [images] were safer than Angelina’s, whose was quite dangerous.…

“She lived quite an alternative lifestyle and didn’t hold back her words. She spoke her mind, and she had a notorious reputation,” he added. “It was quite hard for me to get her through the approval process at the studio, because I wanted an actress who was going to bring something to the part, and she brought this great Angelina Jolie mythology with her as this dark, crazy, wicked woman with a very particular and interesting personality. I wanted that mythology of Angelina Jolie to fuse with Lara Croft.”

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ashley Judd, and Jennifer Lopez were reportedly considered for the role but West was confident that only Jolie could carry the film in her capable hands. “Nobody had any issue with her acting chops; her likability to mainstream audiences was what the studio questioned. The film she won the Oscar for had a minuscule budget as opposed to what they were being asked to spend on this, so the stakes were on the rise. As in any business, they wanted as many safeties and guarantees as possible, and [they felt more secure] with someone else.” West ultimately succeeded in convincing these execs, and this female-centric action film brought in $131 million—a record for such a film at the time.

Now with rumors that Prime Video’s iteration will usher in a new Marvel-esque era for the franchise, it’ll be interesting to see if Sarah Halley Finn—the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s go-to CD—will return to the “Tomb Raider” fold, bringing with her nearly two decades of experience casting the notoriously action-packed MCU. If that’s the case, there’s one surefire way to catch Finn’s attention: your authentic voice.

“An actor should always follow their instincts and follow their impulses because as long as an actor is drawing on their own life experience and connecting with what’s real in them and bringing that to what’s real in the character, it’s going to be unique. It’s going to stand out. I think the most important thing is to bring their own original inspiration and creativity to anything they’re doing and to the role,” Finn told Backstage. “That’s what makes them stand out. There’s really no way to try to guess what someone’s looking for or to try to figure out how to do it right. There’s no right. There’s only making it your own and bringing it to life.”

Prime Video’s untitled “Tomb Raider” project remains in the earliest stages of development and therefore doesn’t have any filming updates just yet.

As for Netflix’s animated series, Season 2 was just announced in October 2024, which means production is likely to pick up sometime in 2025. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available!

Deadline noted the casting process for Prime Video’s “Tomb Raider” series has been “shrouded in secrecy” thus far. However, agents have insider knowledge of who’s casting and can help actors secure an audition for a high-profile project. For those who don’t already have an agent, here’s how to find one.

In the meantime, we also suggest checking out our guide to auditioning for a Prime Video series or Netflix project, as they both are filled with go-to acting advice. 

For those hoping to boost their acting résumés, these casting roundups are updated weekly:

• New York Casting Calls
• Background Casting Calls
• The Best Gigs to Kick-Start Your Acting Career
• Nationwide Casting Calls
• Voiceover Casting Calls
• Los Angeles Casting Calls

“Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” Courtesy Netflix

Prepare for rejection. Every actor will agree that rejection is simply part of the job description—but that doesn’t mean it has to hold you back. As Vikander told The Talks, if you accept that there’ll be bumps in the road, continuing on the path you’ve charted for yourself will ultimately lead to success. “It’s tough,” she said. “I don’t know how many auditions I’ve made and no one sees them, and then you get noes or you don’t even get a reply, which is even worse. It’s a tough industry.… My mum is an actor and she was always saying, ‘Is this really what you want to do? Because this is the reality.’ When you decide that you want to give it a go, you’re also accepting that you might get one job and then it’ll be a long time before the next one, if ever. When you start to get success, I think that perspective is still very grounded within you. I never thought that this would be the future for me. I never thought that I was going to be given even one opportunity and now I’ve been invited to work with so many incredible filmmakers and actors.”

While enthusiasm ebbs and flows, Turner looks to her peers for inspiration, as their performances empower Turner to put her best foot forward. “We often lift a mirror up to society as actors, and let the viewers at home know that if you’re going through the same thing, you’re not so alone,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “Or we can give them an inspiring story about someone’s life that looks very similar to yours. I think it can give people ambition and purpose, reminding them they’re not so alone.… Movies motivate me,” she added. “The minute I’ve watched an incredible movie, I know I can go in and audition for something and give a far better audition than I could have done if I had not watched an incredible actor put on an incredible performance. My peers motivate me, just by their sheer talent.”

Adopt an apprentice mindset. Atwell understands laziness can sometimes get the better of you. It’s happened to her on occasion. But if you approach each opportunity for what it is—a chance to learn—you’ll be able to bring a fresh perspective each time. “Show up and be professional. And to be good at what we do, I believe I’m figuring it out how good I am at it, but it takes a discipline,” she told the Daily Actor. “And I think that can be a danger, that sometimes actors get to a point and then they can be lazy. And the minute I feel like I’m starting to dip, I get very scared. Then I get restless. Then I get bored. And I go, ‘I’m missing out on the side of being in this industry which is to be incredibly stimulated and challenged in many ways and to be privileged enough to be working with truly great minds.’ That’s what inspires me, and I hope that I keep going forward. So my main thing is I hope I always feel like an apprentice.”