Ayelet Zurer from Angels & Demons

Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer has been around. She has done several Hollywood films to date, Vantage Point and Munich are among the memorable ones.

But Angels and Demons became her launch pad to superstardom. Now, people would remember her as Vittoria Vetra, Tom Hank’s woman sidekick in the well-loved, well-watched film, Angels and Demons.

Ayelet Zurer plays a physicist in this movie, an anti-matter expert who needs to find where the deadly weapon is hidden before it can vaporize Vatican City into a puff of smoke.

She did her role awfully well, gaining the respect of movie critics. Acting alongside Oscar winnner Tom Hanks is not an easy feat – nor was it to be directed by a respected director Ron Howard.

Ayelet delivered. And now, she’s a true-blue Hollywood actress of Israeli heritage. We can almost expect more movies piling up before her.

Minus all the hullabaloos, Angels and Demons is more worth watching than Da Vinci Code. Da Vinci Code is the sequel of Angels and Demons but they have entirely different storylines.

The Da Vinci Code is about the Holy Grail. Angels and Demons, on the other hand, has its story focused on the dead pope and the works of a terrorist group. Between the two movies, Angels and Demons defines more action and has more compelling scenes. Da Vinci Code, on the other hand, focused too much on the history of the Holy Grail, which left some of the viewers quite bored and disappointed.

Angels and Demons is written by Dan Brown and stars returning actor Tom Hanks for his role as Robert Langdon and Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra. Catch the movie while it’s still showing at a cinema near you.

Q. Why the international cast of Angels and Demons?
(Tom Hanks – American, Ewan McGregor – Scottish, Ayelet Zurer – Israeli, Stella Skarsgard – Swedish, Pierfrancesco Favino – Italian)

A. It was deliberate. Ron (Howard) wanted it. He wants some international sense in the film. As for me, I find it fun. There are many languages during discussions on the set. It was never boring.

Q. How’s working with Tom Hanks?
A. It was fantastic. He’s funny, smart, a good friend, and a great actor. He’s brilliant, never boring on and off the camera. He knows a lot about almost every subject. We even exchange books.

Q. You have been directed by two great movie makers, Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg. How do you feel?

A. I feel so much pleasure working with them. These great directors are very talented and smart. They never stop being curious and never get tired. But they are highly moral and they both treat people well. I am very lucky.

Angels and Demons has finally hit the theaters May 15. It was shown minus the controversies and a big protest from the religious. Angels and Demons is like a prequel to the Da Vinci Code, which starred Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. The story was based on Dan Brown’s novel of the same title.

Directed by Ron Howard, Angels and Demons opened in the US raking some $46 million in the box office in its first few days of showing. The film also stars Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra. Ewan MacGregor plays Camerlengo Patrick McKenna, Stellan Skarsgard as Commander Richter, and Pierfrancesco Favino as Inspector Olivetti. Angels and Demons is still showing at a theater near you.

Tom Hanks and Ayelet Zurer play as Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra in Angels & Demons.