Is There Room In Hollywood For A Female Action Star?

Zoë Bell kicked ass in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, doing her own death-defying stunts. This Kiwi is clearly a star on the rise, so why is she in a web series?

In an LA Times interview with reporter Greg Braxton, Bell admits, “Doing the butt-kicking stuff was no problem.” Acting, however, is not her forté. Still, from what we’ve seen of the first episode of Crackle.com’s Angel Of Death, she’s not bad. You believe she’s a killer-for-hire, and not just because her abs are, for lack of a better word, insane. And when the script is mostly slapping, kicking and punching while wearing heels an a low-cut blouse, well, what’s not to like?

The question is whether Bell, 30, will ever get a chance to be the action hero she could be. As Braxton points out, while Uma Thurman (Kill Bill), Jennifer Garner (Alias) and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) have played action heroes, none of them did their own stunts. Bell could a Jackie Chan-type star, if only the right script existed. Somehow you can’t help but think that if she were a man with a great body and action skills, she’d already have a couple of starring roles under her belt (see: Jason Statham). Meanwhile, she’ll have to make do with a web series, which features 7-minute episodes; and with her small part as a roller-derby lady in summer’s Drew Barrymore flick, Whip It. And honestly? Maybe Zoë Bell is the reason Zoë Bell is not an action star. As she tells Braxton: “I don’t want to be put in any box. I want to do everything.”

Zoe Bell’s Toughest Stunt Yet: ‘Angel of Death’ [LA Times]
Angel Of Death [Crackle.com]