Video games allow the player to escape the real world, living vicariously through their on-screen character. For some, that is as close to becoming that character as they will ever get. For actress/writer/director Cambria Edwards, it was that in-game character that served as an inspiration that extended into the real world as she portrayed Lara Croft in the popular Tomb Raider Facts videos leading up to the release of this year’s new Tomb Raider game.
It all began at a young age, where several relocations and an encouraging family environment served as the backbone of her creativity.
“I've moved around a lot, probably twenty times by now. Most of it has been in Southern California,” Edwards said. “I was born here, yet my mother was born in Ireland, so I'm actually an Irish citizen as well. I was raised in a very artistic and musically inclined family. We were always going on trips and my parents encouraged every single one of our dreams. I could have joined the circus and they would be happy.”
While her creative side was nourished as she grew up, Edwards states that she was also dedicated to her education. However, she recalls that dedication required a shift in direction if she was to be true to her heart.
“I was that 4.0 student who put school before friends or hanging out. I was always at the top of my class and it landed me acceptance into UC Berkley and Davis. College was pretty much expected of me, and I was going to major in Biology. However, I knew at the end of the day I wasn't going to be truly happy. So instead I went to CSU Fullerton to study film where I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in film and a minor in Psychology.”
While armed with an impressive educational background, Cambria says she doesn’t feel that her transcripts define what she does for a living.
“I love education and learning and am currently taking a few online classes at Harvard, but it doesn't mean that just because I'm smart I have to be a doctor or biologist. I find those topics fascinating, but I'm not going to make them my career. I have way too many interests to be stuck doing one job for the rest of my life. I believe that you have to do something you love with your entire being. Something you will be happy doing no matter how tough it gets. If not, you're setting yourself up for an unhappy life. And who wants that? This industry: acting, writing directing, it allows me to be free to do so many things and utilize all of my skills and talents. Yes it's tough, but I am definitely never bored.”
A longtime fan of video gaming, Edwards recalls first learning of the Lara Croft character with the 2001 Tomb Raider film starring Angelina Jolie. She states that she was instantly drawn to the character.
“My parents never gave me a console growing up, so all my early gaming came from my cousins. I was at their house every week sneaking in my Super Nintendo game time,” Cambria said. “If there was a new gaming console, they had it, from Nintendo, to PlayStation to Xbox. The one game they never had was Tomb Raider. I was ten when the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider film came out. I distinctly remember the large poster cutouts in the movie theater and kept thinking ‘who is this amazing character and why am I not her?’ I was already a history and weapons junkie and thanks to The Mummy, which came out two years previous, archaeology had become another fascination. After I saw the movie, I found out it was based on the video games and I was like ‘How do I get my hands on those?’"
From this point, Edwards states she felt an unmistakable connection to Lara Croft, looking upon the character as more than just pixels, polygons and movie scripts, but as a reflection of her own aspirations.
“She was the grown up version of myself which is why I felt such a connection to the character,” she added. “In college, my nickname was usually ‘Tomb Raider’ or ‘Katniss’ because of the activities my friends saw me doing, such as rock climbing, scuba diving, fencing, kickboxing. Lara Croft is so much more than a pretty face. She is eloquent, sophisticated, well mannered, educated, intelligent, adventurous, capable, and captivating in every way. She goes on the most incredible adventures, fights bad guys, skydives, raids tombs, and doesn't need a man to save her day. She is a long lasting character because you never tire of her. I don't think we could have gotten through thirteen games and two films if Lara Croft was simply a gorgeous heiress who looked for relics, but needed her current arm candy to whip out the double pistols whenever danger came around. Lara Croft revolutionized female gaming characters the way Aliens' Ripley revolutionized women in film, showing that women could kick butt just as well as the greatest male action heroes.”
As Cambria first learned a new Tomb Raider game was in development, she recalls that she was not only excited about the idea of playing it, but felt she had to be part of it herself and share the excitement with the general public. Her and her Shot First Productions partner sat down and came up with the idea of the Tomb Raider Facts video series. Their pitch to Square Enix went well, allowing them to begin production on the series of online shorts.
“I was completely stokes and may or may not have jumped up and down like a little kid at Christmas,” Edwards said. “We pumped out about twenty different facts in an hour and loads more the following week.”
Locating what she describes as a ‘small patch of jungle’ near her Los Angeles home, Edwards set out to film the spots over the course of two days, finally completing her connection to Lara Croft by portraying the character on-camera.
“Getting ready was pretty amazing. It was the first time I had all of the equipment on, ice axe included, and I felt like I could conquer the world,” she said. “Of course Stephen Lunsford, the amazing narrator and co-creator of the spots, never thought I was dirty enough, so he was constantly picking up clumps of mud and rubbing it on me, or spraying water on my face, or adding blood. Luckily, I'm the most low maintenance person you'll meet, so to me it was just a bit of fun.”
With that fun, Edwards added, came a number of unexpected moments.
“There were a lot of things we just improvised on the day, but there is a moment in one of the spots where I fall off a tree. That actually happened,” she said. “I was supposed to be hanging off of a log, or pretending to dangle off one and I lost my grip and fell. I scraped my arm pretty bad but we left it in because it was hilarious. The coolest moment for sure was when I was hanging upside down. I felt like I was James Bond trying to escape from interrogation. The only downside was that I kept worrying my boobs would fall out of my shirt. They were getting dangerously close but my hands were tied behind my back so I couldn't do anything about it if they had. Luckily everything stayed in place.”
Upon release, the Tomb Raider Facts videos quickly gained thousands of views and were featured by Square Enix themselves. More recently, Cambria channeled Lara Croft once again, dressing up as the iconic video game character during a trip to San Diego Comic-Con for a trip taken not only for fun but for a possible continuation of her portrayal of the character.
“I was recently at Comic Con to share in all the nerdy festivities and eat too much food at all the amazing parties,” she said. “While I was there, I cosplayed as Lara Croft yet again to get fan reaction and to schmooze with potential producers concerning a Tomb Raider based web series I'm writing a pilot for, something that could potentially be shared on a format such as the Xbox One, Netflix, etc. My fingers are crossed for that.”
Long term, Edwards states that she looks forward to more opportunities to create objects in the same vein as her other heroes both real and fictional.
“My long term goal is to write and act in projects I love, with people I love working with,” she added. “There are so many talented artists and creators in this industry and I would be honored to work with any number of them. Basically, my dream roles are Jaina Solo and Lara Croft. I love strong actresses and I aspire to have the career of a Rachel Weisz, Sigourney Weaver, Kiera Knightly or Kate Winslet. I want to create beauty, I want to inspire, and I want to embody careers I wouldn't normally have the chance to do in everyday life. I want to be a cop, a detective, a superhero, a video game character, a doctor, a neuroscientist, a pirate. This is what I love and I'm to be doing it for a very long time.”
As she continues on her creative journey through her life and career, Edwards also shared her advice to others out there who may be thinking of taking a trip on the same kind of path.
“Simply, do what you love doing,” she said. “Literally chase after your dreams. They won't fall into your lap for you; you have to work hard for it. But once you catch it, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. Never give up.”
People can follow Cambria’s adventures on her official website at www.CambriaEdwards.com as well as joining her on Twitter @CambriaEdwards.
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