Olga Kurylenko has starred alongside “Seven Psychopaths” and nearly taken out superspy James Bond in “Quantum of Solace.” It seems only obvious that her latest role would be fighting side-by-side with Tom Cruise in the new sci-fi film “Oblivion.” As Julia, she helps Cruise determine his role as he fights to save the Earth. The beautiful Ukrainian actress recently sat down with us to discuss her latest role, as well as how being a Bond girl prepared her for it.

Bullz-Eye: Did the director give you a lot of leeway in expanding your character?

Olga Kurylenko: It’s always teamwork. I spoke with him a lot. He, Tom and I would have meetings and discuss our characters, the backstory and we rehearsed. I watched videos of astronaut trainings. I watched some old romantic movies as preparation and inspiration. It’s a working process and you grow together.

BE: Was it hard to play a character that’s so mysterious early on?

Olga Kurylenko: That’s what I found initially very interesting. There’s this mystery to Julia and that I couldn’t reveal everything right away with the first appearance of her. The fact that she had to unravel and uncover her story during the whole film, she’s a completely different thing in the end from what we see in the beginning. All that mystery was interesting to work on.

BE: You’ve recently worked with two of the biggest stars in Hollywood. How is it different working with Tom Cruise and Daniel Craig?

Olga Kurylenko: A couple of things that they both have in common is that they’re both action heroes. I think another similar thing is that they both do their stunts by themselves. They train a lot and physically work a lot. They’re very hard-working. Tom is fascinating. I don’t know what that man doesn’t know how to do. He flies a plane, a helicopter, everything. It’s very inspiring to work with them, but don’t try to outshine them in action scenes. It’s just incredible. I think a stunt guy tried to compete in running with Tom Cruise and Tom ran faster. And stunt guys are tough. They’re the strongest, the fastest, and Tom Cruise is still stronger and faster. He’s one of a kind.

BE: Creatively, what was it like working with Tom?

Olga Kurylenko: Very interesting, creatively. It was unexpected to see how much he gives. He’s a big star and a wonderful actor, but only his partners and other actors know how much he gives to the other. He gives so much. He’s such a generous partner and that’s not always the case. I’ve never seen him sit in his trailer. Even if he’s far away or in my eyeline, he would prefer to be there. He would never leave the set, even if I told him, “Seriously, I don’t need you.” (laughs) He would still be there. He is involved a hundred percent and that’s a wonderful thing. He is very supportive, of course. He’s done all these stunts. When I came on set and there was this gimbal that was spinning, he talked me through it. He knows how it works. It’s very reassuring and it’s very reassuring to have a partner like that. He’s not just an actor who is there who has no idea. He actually, technically, knows how things work. You feel safe with him.

BE: How was it being in the bubble ship? Did it ever make you nauseous?

Olga Kurylenko: I threw up in the beginning of the film, when I came out of the pod. (laughs) I don’t get sick from motion. I don’t care. I can be on a boat and everything. I don’t like it psychologically, being thrown around. I don’t enjoy roller coasters. That was like being on a roller coaster and a washing machine, because it was spinning all the same time. I usually don’t like going into washing machines, when I have a choice. But here, I didn’t have a choice. Tom told me, “You don’t have a choice.” In a way, there’s all these great memories. Here, today, they all sound very funny. It was funny how I slowly adjusted to that machine, because in the end, I was fine. In the beginning, it was tough. In the end, I couldn’t care less. Joe was telling me, “I can see you smiling.” I said, “No, I’m not.” But I kind of was. (laughs)

BE: Was Tom or Joe laughing at you?

Olga Kurylenko: Everybody was cracking up. We were laughing and screaming at the same time. It’s amazing. It creates such an atmosphere on the set. Those scenes are usually very exciting and they’re also intense, because you’re working with machinery. There are all these buttons that have to be pushed. There were guys controlling it. It’s fascinating how they built that thing also. It can rotate all kinds of ways.

BE: Do you treat big budget and independent films the same way as an actress, in regards to preparation?

Olga Kurylenko: I approach them the same way — a small budget, artsy, independent, or whatever you want to call it, as a big commercial movie. I have to get in my character and I concentrate on the story, researching on certain training and if I have to be prepared physically. I think that’s the most important thing. We play fairy tales on the red carpet and it’s all Cinderella, but when the clock strikes midnight, I turn into a grey mouse and go home. (laughs)

BE: What was your reaction when you saw the finished movie, and did you know the song “Whiter Shade of Pale” was going to be in the movie?

Olga Kurylenko: We actually had a different song and it was replaced. I was surprised.

BE: Which song?

Olga Kurylenko: “Unforgettable.” I had it sent by Joe. It’s a beautiful song. The music is wonderful. They played the music at all or most of the premieres on the red carpets. The music is so touching. I think I was in Dublin, and at some point, I almost cried. I was thinking, “I can’t cry on the red carpet.” (laughs) It’s just so heartbreaking. It’s so emotional. It shows us that music is such an important part of a movie, too. It can just bring you to so many emotions. It can evoke so many feelings and memories, nostalgia, things that are connected to our past. It’s so important. I find it fits perfectly in the movie.

BE: How does “Oblivion” compare to your upcoming project with Terrence Malick?

Olga Kurylenko: It’s very different. They couldn’t be further apart from each other. In Malick’s film, there was no script. Here, the script is very detailed and very precise. The way Malick worked with us, he never rehearsed and he was actually against every rehearsal. In “Oblivion,” we rehearsed many scenes, especially the technical scenes, because you can’t just step on set and improvise when you’re working with all this machinery and flying bubble ships that can be very dangerous. It has to be very well rehearsed and prepared. Malick just throws actors in, but there is a backstory. Once again, lots of conversations. The way I built my character was by talking to Terrence. We just spoke, spoke, spoke. I had a little homework to do before I started the movie. I had to read three Russian novels: “Anna Karenina,” “Ilyiad” and “The Brothers Karamazov.” Those are very little novels. (laughs) After that, I didn’t need to read a script. We just spoke and it was just discussions about what I drew from the books, how we can compose the character, what similarities there are between Marina and other female characters in those books. That’s where the character was kind of born.

BE: Did you do any special training for “Oblivion” and were you hurt at all?

Olga Kurylenko: I wouldn’t tell you about that. (laughs) I’m tough. Of course, I get hurt all the time, but I like it. It’s not the most physically involved role I’ve had. If you compare Julia to Camille in “Quantum of Solace,” Julia’s a much more romantic character, while Camille is actually competing with Bond, trying to kill him, trying to fight him. She was pretty much an equivalent to James Bond in a female character, which was very different. And she didn’t have any romantic story with Bond, which was very different from Bond girls and very different from Julia. For me, physically, the most intense character and the most I’ve been involved in with action was Bond, but this one was probably the second. I’m kind of a secondary character, because I don’t manipulate those things. I’m either sitting next to Tom or behind Tom. So, I was sitting next to him or behind him on the motorcycle and the bubbleship. At one point, I pick up a machine gun and shoot. In that, the Bond girl school served me, because I did come prepared. They asked me how I knew how to do it and I said, “I went to Bond school.” (laughs)

He rides a sweet motorcycle, flies a badass futuristic stealth bomber, wears a cool NASCAR-like uniform, does a scene in zero gravity, and kisses two beautiful women. Needless to say, Tom Cruise had several reasons to sign up for “Oblivion,” and as an added bonus, writer/director Joseph Kosinski assembled a slick, compelling story around which to frame the riding and the flying and the floating and the kissing. Sci-fi fans will likely cry foul with regard to how much “Oblivion” borrows from a smaller film released a few years back (to say its name would give away too much), and rightfully so. Indeed, “Oblivion” is in many ways a souped-up, big-budget remake of the smaller film. The original is better, as is often the case, but “Oblivion” is quite good as well. It’s beautifully shot, it carries a palpable sense of unease, and it keeps its cards close to the vest. The poker face approach gets frustrating at times, but in the end it was nice to see a science fiction film that doesn’t patronize its audience.

In the years following a war that devastated Earth and killed the population, technician Jack Harper (Cruise) and his work/life partner Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) literally live in a penthouse in the clouds. Jack and Victoria take instructions from Sally (Melissa Leo) at Mission Control to keep a group of spherical drones functioning so the good guys can defend themselves against a group of alien scavengers who seek to undermine their efforts even though the war is long over. Jack has strange memories, though, of a woman he’s never met and a life he’s never lived. When the scavengers set up a beacon that attracts a ship, Jack investigates the landing site and is stunned to discover that the woman in his dreams is one of the passengers. Soon after, Jack receives a visit from the scavengers, and is forced to rethink everything he has ever known.

Kosinski showed with his directorial debut “TRON: Legacy” that he had a great eye for visuals, but he was hogtied by an underwhelming script. He’s in full control this time around – he actually wrote out a graphic novel of the story before shooting – and the difference in quality is significant. The drones, in particular, are beautiful and menacing, and they emit disorienting blasts of sound a la Hans Zimmer’s score for “Inception.” Eye-popping scenery and effects were a given, though; what sets “Oblivion” apart from “TRON” is how Kosinski handles the story. In an age where speed is king, Kosinski takes his good sweet time telling his story. In fact, when he finally decides to ramp up the action, it feels out of place with the rest of the film. Calling this thinking man’s sci-fi might be a bit of a stretch, but this is closer to that end of the spectrum than, say, any of the “Transformers” movies.

Alas, it is not without its flaws. The movie’s first act is in dire need of some tightening, and the fingerprints of focus groups are all over the movie’s bookend narration, which leads to the movie’s plot being explained twice in the first 30 minutes. Ironically, the film undercuts itself in the opposite way on the back end as well; once the story does its Big Reveal, it shines a light on doors that the movie never opens. There damn well better be a director’s cut on the Blu-ray that explores these avenues.

Tom Cruise doesn’t do science fiction very often, but he’s had good instincts when he picks his sci-fi projects (“War of the Worlds” notwithstanding), and the character of Jack in “Oblivion” is a good choice for him. It doesn’t demand a dramatic range – it just needs a hero, and Cruise has that down to, well, a science. It doesn’t hit all of the right beats, but it hits most of them, and gets extra credit for trying to raise the bar. We could use more movies like that, even if they don’t completely succeed.

Earlier today, the Guinness Storehouse (the Guinness brewery in Dublin, Ireland) rolled out the red carpet to welcome one of the world’s most famous actors in history, Tom Cruise. Cruise jetted into Dublin as part his worldwide tour for his latest movie, “Oblivion,” accompanied by director Joseph Kosinski and Cruise’s leading, lady former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko.

The group was treated to a private tour of the Guinness Brewery, and Tom received a one-on-one session with Master Brewer Fergal Murray to learn how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness.

Since opening its doors in 2000, the Guinness Storehouse has welcomed over 9 million visitors from around the world and is Ireland’s number one international visitor attraction. The building, a former fermentation plant in the legendary St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, holds a seven story Guinness experience which allows visitors to gain an understanding of why Guinness has become one of the world’s most iconic and best loved brands.

The beautiful women from the James Bond films have intrigued us in many ways over the years, but seeing them join in on the action wielding all sorts of guns definitely added to the sex appeal. Above you’ll see a slideshow of some of the sexy Bond girls holding their firearms, starting the the sexy Tanya Roberts from “A View to a Kill” sporting her big hair from the 80s. Next we have an action shot of Olga Kurylenko from “Quantum of Solace” and then the elegant Daniela Bianchi pointing a gun at Bond in “From Russia with Love.” Michelle Yeoh handles some serious firepower in “Tomorrow Never Dies,” and then another action shot with Naomie Harris from “Skyfall.” The slideshow finishes up with three lovely Bond girls posing with their guns – Carey Lowell in “Licence to Kill,” Catrina Skepper in “The Living Daylights” and finally badass Grace Jones in “A View to a Kill.”

Barbara Bach points a gun at Bond in “The Spy Who Loved Me.”

Plenty of girls with guns in “Octopussy”

1. It looks great.

2. The second episode rehashed too much of the pilot, but the third episode was much better.

3. As far as the cast goes, Danny Huston makes a great bad-ass, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in fine form as well, and although Alex Rocco’s storyline was a bit schmaltzy for my tastes, he’s still Alex Rocco, which means his scenes are worth seeing simply because he’s in them.

All things considered, it’s probably best that I hadn’t yet seen the fourth episode when I wrote about the series, since not only did it prove to be the most disappointing installment of the entire season, but it left such a bad taste in my mouth—I believe the precise phrase I used to describe the series at the time was “infuriatingly inconsistent”—that, if I’m to be honest, I could’ve flipped a coin to decide my thoughts on whether it was going to get better or worse in the coming weeks. Pretty much all of the good will it had built up in the preceding three weeks had been shot all to hell in the span of a single hour.

Thank God it got better. In fact, it got so much better that, now that Magic City: The Complete First Season has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, I have absolutely no hesitation about recommending it as a must-buy. I really can’t speak to what happened behind the scenes to turn the series around in such a dramatic fashion, but it was one of the most impressive TV turnarounds I’ve ever seen.

“Magic City,” if you’ve never seen it, is set in Miami in 1959, not long after the Cuban Revolution, with Morgan playing Ike Evans, owner of the Miramar Playa, the snazziest hotel in the city. It’s the fulfillment of a dream for Ike, but it’s one that he’s achieved at a cost, having gotten financial assistance from mob boss Ben Diamond (Huston), a guy with such a nasty reputation that Huston himself has said, “You would not want Ben Diamond to do you a favor. I think even if he offered to open the door for you, you’d be, like, ‘No, no, that’s okay!’” It leads to a very interesting dynamic between the two men, with Ben knowing that he’s got a position of power in the relationship even as Ike is trying to convince himself that Ben’s really just a silent partner. The self-delusion is slowing disintegrating, however, first when Ike asks Ben to “take care of” a labor dispute, then when the hotel’s overhead hits a point where Ike has no choice but to ask Ben for more money, and the situation gets even worse when Ike attempts to gamble his way into salvation, only to end up even further in debt. It’s at this point that Ike decides to pitch Meg Bannock (Kelly Lynch), his late wife’s very well-off sister, on the idea of teaming up with him on the hotel in hopes of relying less on Ben…but that opens a whole other realm of problems, since there’s a ridiculous amount of sexual tension between Meg and Ike, a situation that Ike’s current wife, Vera (Olga Kurylenko), is in no way unaware of.

Beyond the Ike vs. Ben battle and the Ike/Vera/Meg triangle, Ike’s also having to deal with the district attorney, who’s sure that Ike had something to do with the labor union rep suddenly going MIA. Then there are Ike’s sons, Stevie (Steven Strait), who’s very much his father’s son in all the worst possible ways he can be, and Danny (Christian Cooke), a squeaky-clean lad who’s trying to pursue a career in law as well as a relationship with Mercedes (Dominik Garcia-Lorido), who works in the hotel with her father, Victor (Yul Vazquez), the general manager of the Miramar Playa. Meanwhile, Stevie’s playing with fire by having an affair with Ben’s wife, Lily (Jessica Marais), a situation which – as anyone might guess – is almost certainly destined to end poorly.

As you can see, “Magic City” is a good old fashioned soap opera, albeit one that plays more than a little bit like “Mad Men” meets “The Sopranos,” not that there’s anything inherently wrong with such a combination. Although it starts slowly, with so many different storylines whirling around that many of them are necessarily set aside for several episodes at a time, the fifth episode proves to be a turning point. At first, there’s that suspicion that the fourth episode was so bad that you might be overrating the proceedings, but, no, the show definitely gets into a groove that continues all the way to the season finale, leaving you dying to see what’s going to happen next. Now that the entire first season is available on DVD and Blu-ray, you really need to pick it up, put it in the player, and have yourself a good old fashioned marathon. Season 2 won’t be kicking off ’til next year, but there’s no time like the present to start getting psyched.

Bond girls Olga Kurylenko and Caterina Murino were on hand to celebrate the 50th anniversary of James Bond and unveil Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s BOND 50 Blu-ray collection at CES 2012 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Check out the video above for a promo for the new Blu-ray along with discussions with three of the directors of the Bond films.

Ukrainian beauty Olga Kurylenko is an actress and model based in Paris, and she appeared in “Quantum of Solace.” As you can see from the photo below she can handle a gun!

Italian stunner Caterina Murino appeared in “Casino Royale.”