<p id=”par-1_43″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>Actor</a> Kate Beckinsale has faced scrutiny about her looks before from former <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-michael-bay-attractive-enough-pearl-harbor.html/”>collaborators like Michael Bay</a>. Additionally, she’s dealt with other critics who felt the actor couldn’t pull off being sexy. But she believed one classic Fantasy film would prove the naysayers wrong.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kate-beckinsale-was-once-told-she-wasn-t-sexy-enough-for-certain-films”>Kate Beckinsale was once told she wasn’t sexy enough for certain films</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Van-Helsing-Kate-Beckinsale.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Kate Beckinsale posing at the world premiere of ‘Van Helsing’.” class=”wp-image-3770482″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Kate Beckinsale | L. Cohen / Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_90″>Beckinsale is no stranger to facing criticism about her looks. Even to this day, certain fans can’t help pick apart her features. Not too long ago, fans couldn’t stop talking about <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-eccentric-doll-look-mystifies-fans-think-seems-little-off.html/”>her eccentric doll-like appearance</a> the last time she hit the red carpet. Although she’s used to the attention by now, Beckinsale once went to great lengths to prove the critics wrong. At least when it came to her potential sex appeal. Her desire to show audiences that she had more range led her to do the movie <em>Van Helsing</em>.</p>
<p id=”par-3_27″>“One of the reasons why I decided to do <em>Van Helsing </em>was that people didn’t think I could play sexy,” she once said according to <a href=”https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30178736.html”>Irish Examiner</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-4_21″>Ironically, she was initially turned down for another vampire feature because producers for that film also thought she lacked sex appeal.</p>
<p id=”par-5_34″>[Director Len Wiseman] told me much later that when he wanted me to do <em>Underworld</em>, all the executives in the studio [said]: ‘But she’s just not sexy – she’s like someone’s mom,’” Beckinsale recalled.</p>
<p id=”par-6_12″>She hoped, however, that <em>Underworld </em>and <em>Van Helsing </em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsale-shared-starred-underworld-series-change-image.html/”>would change her image</a>.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-underworld-prepared-kate-beckinsale-for-van-helsing”>How ‘Underworld prepared Kate Beckinsale for ‘Van Helsing’</h2>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Van Helsing Official Trailer #1 (2004) – Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale Movie HD” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/7pBmXkyycWE?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-7_69″>On the surface, it might seem <em>Underworld </em>and <em>Van Helsing </em>have a lot in common. They’re both stories with heavy fantastical themes that focus on vampires. But Beckinsale’s roles in the two projects couldn’t have been any more different. In<em> Underworld,</em> she played a vampire warrior caught in the middle of a war between other vampires and werewolves. But Beckinsale’s <em>Van Helsing </em>counterpart was another type of action hero.</p>
<p id=”par-8_76″>“I remember when I got the script for this even though it had vampires and werewolves in it my character was so different because first of all I’m not a vampire myself. She’s a gypsy, passionate and human,” she once said according to <a href=”https://www.blackfilm.com/20040430/features/vanhelsing.shtml”>Black Film</a>. “It just seemed like a different role. I don’t have a big career plan so I like to see how things turn out. I want to keep going in different directions.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_32″>She considered herself fortunate that she did<em> Underworld</em> before<em> Van Helsing,</em> however. The latter required her to be in action star shape, which she was already in thanks to her<em> Underworld</em> training.</p>
<p id=”par-10_107″>“I had a whole training period called<em> Underworld</em>, thank God. I didn’t have any training for this movie because I started it right after I finished<em> Underworld</em>. We had a great stutn coordinator who would tell me to jump off this 80 foot tall building so I knew how to do it,” she said. “I found it really helpful and sometimes it’s really helpful to be around friendly people who you trust. Some people will go further for those they trust. It was a very comfortable set. The only stunt I hurt myself on was when [I was] running up to a window and banging my elbow.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_62″>Thanks to her training, Beckinsale was even able to upstage her fellow action star Hugh Jackman when it comes to stunts. Working with Jackman was another part of <em>Van Helsing </em>she enjoyed. The two bonded on set, and their friendship seems to have lasted to this day. Not too long ago, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/hugh-jackman-kate-beckinsale-look-closer-wimbledon-see-photos.html/”>they looked closer than ever</a> when they attended a Wimbledon game.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kate-beckinsale-did-van-helsing-to-get-away-from-corsets”>Kate Beckinsale did ‘Van Helsing’ to get away from corsets</h2>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”VAN HELSING (2004) Movie Clip – Vampire Banquet |FULL HD| Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gp5wew9Be4o?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-12_24″>Apart from proving her sexiness, Beckinsale also did <em>Van Helsing </em>because it was another alternative to doing projects where she had to wear corsets.</p>
<p id=”par-13_102″>“I moved away from England to get away from corsets,” she said. “I’ve done quite a few things so if you can keep your hand in independent films and do the odd bigger one. There are a lot of action films involving women at the moment. One of the reasons I like this one because it was a genuine one where the man and woman collaborate. There hasn’t been a movie that’s really been fun like this one for a long time. I haven’t found the movie that lies between costume dramas and ass-kicking. That would give you a lot of leeway.”</p>
<p id=”par-14_44″>Not every thriller Beckinsale starred in could be successful. There was even one poorly reviewed action flick <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kate-beckinsales-embarrassing-2016-thriller-lost-millions-has-zero-rotten-tomatoes.html/”>many considered embarrassing</a>. But thanks to flicks like <em>Van Helsing </em>and <em>Underworld</em>, many moviegoers were able to see how wide Beckinsale’s range as an actor truly was.</p>