The Actress Who Plays Lara Croft In Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness Is Gorgeous In Real Life
As one of the first major female characters in an action-adventure video game, Lara Croft of "Tomb Raider" is an icon. As expected, the developers of the games decided that a similarly iconic voice was needed to go along with the character, and thus began the hunt for the voice actress for "Tomb Raider." However, this task was not without its challenges. Finding someone who is direct, yet sultry, would prove to be difficult, and Croft's voice changes a few times throughout the series' first few games.
Shelley Blond — as iconic as she is as the original voice of Croft — is only in the series for the first "Tomb Raider" game. When it came time to record the second game, Blond already had other obligations but gave the developers permission to use her sounds bites (via Alternative Magazine Online). In her place, Judith Gibbins voiced the role for the next two games, "Tomb Raider II" and "Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft," but she parted ways with the franchise after the third game.
Luckily, in 1999, Croft found a more permanent voice. This actress lent her voice to the character from 1999 up until 2003, when Core Design ended their involvement with the franchise after the darker title known as "Lara Croft: The Angel of Darkness" (via Ars Technica). The voice behind the darker iteration of Croft is drop-dead gorgeous in real life, which is exactly what someone would expect from a voice as recognizable as hers.
Who is Jonell Elliott?
Jonell Elliott is the sultry voice behind Lara Croft from "Lara Croft: The Last Revelation" to "Lara Croft: The Angel of Darkness. While speaking on the first episode of Raidercast Season 2, Elliott revealed that she always had a love for reading out loud and performing, which lead her down the interesting career path of voice acting. In 1996, the year "Tomb Raider" debuted, Elliott was in a musical with Shelley Blond, and the pair have been inseparable ever since. Despite this connection, she found her way to becoming Croft in a different way.
When it came to getting the role of Croft, the developers of the game approached Elliott's agent to have her audition, as she revealed in her interview with Raidercast. She decided to try out, and a few weeks later, Elliott was given the role. All of this was with Blond's blessing, of course. When talking about her friend's support during the process, Elliott said "[Auditioning for the role] was a bit weird ... obviously, I told Shelley about it and she said go for it!" Blond stayed supportive throughout Elliott's journey as Croft, and the two are still close friends.
Becoming the Angel of Darkness
As she began her journey as Lara Croft, there wasn't a lot that Elliott could change about the character. "It was a little of keeping what they already knew [about Croft] but adding my own little bit of spice to her character as well," the actress told Profane Egyptology about filling the role (via YouTube). As the years progressed, the changes made would allow Elliott to have some creative input. The story in "Lara Croft: The Angel of Darkness" is much more of a mystery-thriller than the typical action-adventure fans get in the previous games, and more personality and story are added to Croft's character.
Elliott said that getting to play Croft was a dream come true for her, but up until very recently, she shied away from the spotlight. She now has an Instagram account that boasts her title of the "original Angel of Darkness," which is fitting as she saw Croft's change to a darker side firsthand. It is exciting to finally hear her side of the story and learn what it was like for Elliott to portray one of the most iconic women in video games.