Honestly, it’s hard to imagine anyone else as the face that launched a thousand ships. Back in 2004, when Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy hit theaters, Diane Kruger in Troy was basically the definition of ethereal. But if you think she just waltzed onto that sun-drenched set in Malta because she looked like a Greek goddess, you've got the story all wrong. The reality of her experience was way more uncomfortable—and a lot more technical—than the glossy posters ever let on.
She wasn't even a "name" back then.
💡 You might also like: Why the Cast of Beauty and Mr. Romantic Made This K-Drama a Massive Hit
Before the bronze armor and the $175 million budget, Kruger was a German-born model trying to break into acting. She had precisely one French film under her belt when she sent in an audition tape. She’s gone on record saying she felt the role was completely out of her league. And yet, she beat out over 3,000 other women. Producers weren't looking for a superstar like Nicole Kidman, who was reportedly considered early on; they wanted a fresh face. Someone who didn't carry the baggage of previous roles.
The Audition That Made Her Feel Like Meat
You might think a screen test for a blockbuster is all about the "craft," but for Kruger, it felt a lot more like a livestock auction. Decades later, she opened up about a specific, incredibly awkward moment during the casting process. She had to fly to Los Angeles to meet a studio executive at Warner Bros.
Here's the kicker: she had to do it in full costume.
Now, in Hollywood, that’s not exactly standard operating procedure for a high-level executive meeting. Usually, you do that for the director or a casting agent on a soundstage. Kruger described the experience as being "looked up and down" by an older man in a massive office, while he asked her point-blank why she thought she should be the one to play Helen. She later admitted that, at the time, she just thought, "This is what Hollywood is like." It’s a pretty sobering reminder that even when you’re being cast as the most beautiful woman in history, the industry can make you feel remarkably small.
✨ Don't miss: Lindsay Lohan Sex Scenes: What Really Happened Behind the Camera
The "Rounder" Look: Why She Had to Gain Weight
There’s this weird misconception that Diane Kruger was just hired to be skinny and pretty. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Wolfgang Petersen felt she was too thin for the role. Ancient standards of beauty weren't about the "heroin chic" look of the early 2000s. Petersen wanted her to look "rounder" and more womanly, as he put it.
She ended up gaining about 15 pounds for the role.
Kruger has told a pretty funny story about shooting Wicker Park in Montreal right before Troy. She was eating everything in sight to hit her weight goal. When her then-partner (Guillaume Canet) flew in to see her after four months apart, he actually told her she was getting a "double chin." Talk about a confidence booster right before you’re supposed to play a legendary icon.
But it worked. On screen, she had a softness that fit the period-piece vibe perfectly. Her costumes, designed by Bob Ringwood, helped a lot too. Fun fact for the fashion nerds: many of those "ancient Greek" dresses were actually repurposed Indian saris. The production used them because the weight and drape of the silk mimicked what they thought ancient textiles might have looked like, even if it wasn't strictly 100% historically accurate.
Was She Actually "Wooden"? Defending the Performance
If you look at old reviews from 2004, critics were... let’s say harsh. Manohla Dargis from the New York Times once basically dismissed her as being "too beautiful" to have substance. That line still bugs Kruger today, and honestly, she’s right to be annoyed.
Helen of Troy is a notoriously difficult character to play because, in the script, she’s more of a catalyst than a protagonist. She’s a woman trapped between two worlds, feeling immense guilt for the thousands of men dying outside the city walls. If she seems "stiff," it’s often because the character is literally paralyzed by her situation.
- The chemistry factor: People love to talk about the lack of sparks between her and Orlando Bloom (Paris). But think about it—their "romance" is essentially a disaster. It’s an impulsive, youthful mistake that destroys a civilization. It shouldn't feel like a cozy rom-com.
- The Brad Pitt dynamic: While she didn't have many scenes with Pitt (Achilles), he was apparently a huge mentor on set. He knew she was the "new kid" and went out of his way to make her feel included during dinners in Malta.
- The German connection: Wolfgang Petersen was also German, and he’d occasionally give her notes in their native language to help her feel more grounded when she got nervous.
Life After the Trojan War
For a lot of actors, a role like Helen is a career-killer. You get pigeonholed as "the pretty girl" and never get a serious script again. For a while, Kruger felt that happening. She’s mentioned that European cinema actually saved her career. While Hollywood was trying to figure out what to do with her after Troy and National Treasure, directors in France and Germany were giving her gritty, complex roles that eventually led to her winning Best Actress at Cannes for In the Fade (2017).
Looking back at Diane Kruger in Troy, it’s a time capsule of a specific era of filmmaking. It was one of the last "swords and sandals" epics to use thousands of real extras before everything became a CGI blur.
What You Can Do Next
If you want to see the "real" Diane Kruger beyond the blonde curls of 2004, stop re-watching the Troy director's cut for a second and check out these specific performances. They show the range she was fighting to prove she had all along:
✨ Don't miss: Why The Pioneer Woman Show Still Dominates Food Network After All These Years
- In the Fade (2017): This is her absolute peak. She plays a woman seeking justice after her family is killed in a neo-Nazi bombing. It’s raw, messy, and the total opposite of Helen.
- Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino famously didn't even want to audition her because he was skeptical of her talent based on her earlier work. She paid for her own flight to Germany to prove him wrong. Her performance as Bridget von Hammersmark is iconic.
- The 355 (2022): If you want to see her do the physical action stuff she didn't get to do in Troy, this is a solid choice. She did her own stunts and trained in boxing and military drills for weeks.
Basically, the "face that launched a thousand ships" turned out to be a lot more than just a face. She’s a survivor of a Hollywood system that tried to turn her into a prop, and she’s still one of the most interesting actors working today because of it.