Actor: Eva Green

Eva Green played Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, the only Bond partner whose death has consequences across multiple subsequent films, and the performance is why the Craig arc works at all.

She has since chosen deliberately odd material: Penny Dreadful, The Dreamers, Sin City and repeated collaborations with Tim Burton.

Kingdom of Heaven’s director’s cut restores her role substantially, and the difference between the two versions is the clearest case for that cut existing.

She is French, trained in Paris and London, and has said openly that she avoids conventional leading roles because they bore her.