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- Lara Croft's new actress, Alix Wilton Regan, says her version of the character isn't "overtly sexualized"
- Wilton Regan says Lara is "objectively gorgeous" without it being "dependent on a man's gaze"
- She says modernized Lara Croft "unapologetic" and "completely self-possessed"
Alix Wilton Regan, the actress behind the new Lara Croft in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, has explained how her "modernized" version of the beloved character differs from iterations that have come before.
Speaking in an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, Wilton Regan talked at length about her portrayal of the beloved character in Crystal Dynamics' upcoming title, calling her version of Lara someone who is not "overtly sexualized" for the sake of the male gaze, but beautiful because that's who she is.
"Our version of Lara, what I love about this version of Lara, is she is sassy, charismatic, stunning, objectively gorgeous, and completely self-possessed as a woman without being overtly sexualized, and that's something that myself and a lot of the animation team have talked about at length," she began.
"She is attractive simply because that is who she is as a woman, without apology, without it being dependent on a man's gaze, and I actually think that's a really attractive thing to play as a male player and a female player, and everyone else in between.
"That's the feedback that we have gotten from people on the animation team, and so on and so forth. And, you know, her proportions are still remarkable. They just look more realistic now."
Wilton Regan touched on what her version of a "modernized" Lara Croft looks like in Legacy Atlantis, likening her to an evolved version of the character that has existed previously.
"Modernized Lara Croft is cool, charismatic, confident, unapologetic, completely self-possessed, rises to a challenge without her emotions rising at the same time, which is quite an interesting differentiation, I would say," she said.
"Supremely physically capable, of course, that has to be stated," the actress added. "She is supremely physically capable and highly intelligent."
In the same interview, Wilton Regan revealed that her favorite "favorite" movie in the franchise is the original 2001 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, and that Crystal Dynamics used a lot of Jolie's scenes for her auditions.
"They used a lot of those scenes for my callbacks when I was auditioning, because Angelina Jolie encapsulates Lara's charisma, confidence, sassiness, and that was something that the creators at Crystal Dynamics really wanted to capture as we move forward into a new era of Tomb Raider," Wilton Regan said.
You'll be able to play Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis when it launches on February 27, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.
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