It happens that at the end of a shoot, or during a shoot, an actor or actress has an epiphany. To the point of profoundly influencing their respective lives. The proof in threes.
It happens that at the end of a shoot, or during a shoot, an actor or actress has an epiphany. To the point of profoundly influencing their respective lives. The proof in threes.
Tomb Raider, a film that changed Angelina Jolie’s life
A good example in this area is Angelina Jolie. Filming for many weeks in Cambodia during the first part of Tomb Raider, the actress really became aware of the plight of the population, particularly children in this country.
An element which was decisive for her humanitarian commitment, to the point of being appointed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as a goodwill ambassador, from 2001 to 2012. During this period, she worked tirelessly, carrying out nearly 60 field missions and becoming an influential spokesperson on the issue of refugees and population displacement.
In 2004, she was very involved within the UNHCR on the issue of Darfur, devastated by a terrible civil war. “I have met many children trapped by this conflict. They wear rags, cannot go to school or receive medical care. Yet when asked what they need, they ask to be safe, before even mentioning food or clothing. The fact is that no place is 100% safe. she said. In 2007, she will donate a million dollars paid by its foundation to the cause of Darfur.
“Before, I was mainly interested in myself, in my career, in my life” she confided, indicating that she donates a third of her income to charitable organizations. She was even made an honorary citizen of Cambodia, opening on site The Maddox Chivan Children’s Center. A shelter welcoming and caring for Cambodian children suffering from AIDS; baptized with the name of his adopted son from this country.
In a way, we can say that the role of Lara Croft changed Angelina Jolie’s life. It is always fashionable to sometimes mock the humanitarian commitment of certain Hollywood stars, sometimes redeeming a good conscience at little cost. A scathing remark that is inapplicable and totally unwelcome for the actress, whose commitment to the humanitarian cause cannot be faulted.
James Cromwell became vegan after starring in Babe
Great and venerable actor unanimously respected by his peers, James Cromwell, now 84 years old, has been showing his figure on the screen for more than sixty years. In 1995, he played farmer Arthur Hogget in the wonderful film Babe; a role for which the actor also received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The only one so far.
Too young to go to the pan but nevertheless aware of the fate that awaited him, Babe made himself indispensable on the farm, to the point of becoming, under the amazed and tender eyes of his master, the first shepherd pig.
A vegetarian since the 70s, the actor completely became vegan after filming this film, and is committed to fighting against animal abuse and defending its cause. He was even arrested in 2015 and 2017 because of his activism.
In April 2023, he helped save a piglet that fell from a slaughterhouse truck and named it Babe. In a video made for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), James Cromwell tells the story of the rescued little pig and even sings him a few lines from Farmer Hoggett’s song in Babe, “If I Had Words.”
The video, below.
Don Cheadle and the question of genocide after Hotel Rwanda
The younger generation knows the excellent actor Don Cheadle above all in the guise of James Rhodes, aka War Machine in the Marvel universe. In 2005, the actor headlined the film Hotel Rwanda. A work whose echo suddenly returned at the beginning of April, with the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the start of the genocide in Rwanda, which left more than 800,000 dead in three months.
In this work based on a true story, for which the actor received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, he plays Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of the most beautiful hotel in Kigali. As the massacres began, he offered refuge to hundreds of people. While the UN evacuates Western nationals and abandons the Rwandans to their fate, the refugees in the hotel are condemned to survive on their own…
During the film’s premiere in Uganda, the actor was moved by the discussions he had with genocide survivors and had found refuge in the famous hotel. Enough to give him the desire to understand more and get involved.
YouTube screenshot Don Cheadle and John Prendergast in 2007, presenting their book.
Next to John Prendergasta very famous humanitarian activist, co-founder with George Clooney of The Sentryan investigative team whose policy is to trace dirty money linked to war criminals and transnational war profiteers, Don Cheadle went to Sudan to visit refugee camps in Darfur, where the crisis just erupted at the time when the actor was filming the film Hotel Rwanda.
From this experience will be born a book co-written with Prendergast, Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond. Not on Our Watch is also the name of the NGO that he co-founded alongside George Clooney, well-known for his humanitarian commitment to the Darfur issue.
