Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: olga kurylenko, Turbulence

Turbulence Star Olga Kurylenko on Mentally Challenging Role, Stunts

Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion) spoke to us about her latest survival thriller in Lionsgate's Turbulence, director, being the wildcard, and more.

Olga Kurylenko has done it all in terms of drama, action, and thrillers across TV and film from indie projects, blockbusters to tentpole franchises including memorable roles in Universal's Oblivion (2013), MGM's Quantum of Solace (2008), 20th Century's Hitman (2007), Vampire Academy (2014), and Marvel's Thunderbolts*/The New Avengers (2025). Her latest is the Lionsgate survival thriller Turbulence as Julia, a woman with a mysterious past who joins married couple Emmy (Hera Hilmar) and Zach (Jeremy Irvine) on a hot air balloon ride. As Julia reveals her hand, threatening to expose her history with Zach, tensions rise on multiple fronts thousands of feet in the air. Kurylenko spoke to Bleeding Cool about getting into the mindset of Julia and tapping into ulterior motives, working with director Claudio Fäh and writer Andy Mayson, and stunt work.

Turbulence Star Olga Kurylenko on Refreshing Wildcard Role in Lionsgate Thriller

What intrigued you about Turbulence, and what did you like about Andy's script?

I liked that the whole story happens in the basket. It was a small, confined place, and it was challenging. I think it was the smallest film set I worked on, so it was an interesting idea. How can you sustain a full movie in the basket? That already was interesting, and of course, my character, Julia, was interesting for me to explore, because she's clearly deranged, completely obsessed by vengeance, and acting quite irrationally. I liked to explore and play with a messy, crazy character like that. I always like something different.

What was it like working with Claudio as a creative?

Claudio was amazing. He's like one of the most pleasant people to be around. He's nice, polite, professional, and knows what he wants. He had sketched everything, a whole outline of the whole story. He was so well-prepared, but also excited every day about what we had to film. I'm always happy. I don't know, it's just so pleasant, and the atmosphere on set was always just great, easygoing, and to work in these conditions, it's so pleasant, because it's not always like that. I would work with Claudio again.

Did you do any prep work before filming this film, as far as the physical demands and working with Hera and Jeremy?

I'm trying to remember. Did we do a rehearsal? No, we didn't do rehearsals with scenes involving Hera or Jeremy, but we did some stunt rehearsals. We had to rehearse the stunt with precision, because we only had the basket to be in, so that required a certain movement and certain precision. What I did (to prepare as Julia), I explored the craziness, and I thought a lot about the signs of someone who is not well, because to me, my character isn't well.

I was looking a lot for visible science of someone who is not doing well, and I tried to portray it as much as I could, although of course, I didn't have too much time. I was exploring all those moments, like, for example, when she laughs inappropriately, or when she puts her hands over her ears. It's because she can't stand the noise, and it's too much for her. So yeah, I was constantly trying to find ways of portraying and showing that she's not quite there.

What do you think is the difficult sequence that you had to film?

Most difficult sequence. I mean, they were all in the basket, so apart from that, there was the bar, but that was easy, because it was nice in this environment, and it was a fun scene. In the baskets, yeah, it's the one, it is the sequence where I'm fighting (with Jeremy's character Zach), and then I get burned. There was another one when, in the end, he hits me, since my character Julia is burned like this from that point, my character is in so much pain that she goes into shock. We constantly had to put on makeup and all that, so that whole scene was the most challenging, because I tried to break the pain, but also not to overdo it. It wasn't just straightforward.

Turbulence, which also stars Kelsey Grammer, is in theaters.

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