Weisz: I longed to play wicked role (From Bournemouth Echo)

Weisz: I longed to play wicked role

10:27am Friday 30th November 2012 in National Entertainment News © Press Association 2013

Rachel Weisz has revealed she chose to play a wicked witch in the new Wizard Of Oz prequel because she wanted to play a villain.

The Bourne Legacy star plays the Wicked Witch of the East in Oz, The Great And Powerful directed by Sam Raimi, which tells the story of how the two wicked witches of Oz wage war with the wizard.

Rachel revealed: "Sometimes you seek things out and sometimes you are chosen. The reasons vary. It can be the director or the material. With Oz, I chose that film. I wanted to do it because it was something I have never done before.

"I play the Wicked Witch of the East. She is really evil and the role was different from anything I had ever done before. I just read it and knew I wanted to play that character. That was a challenge. I got to be in a whole new universe where lightning bolts shoot out of my fingertips. When does one get to do something like that? It was like being a kid."

::Rachel stars with Jeremy Renner in The Bourne Legacy, released on DVD on Monday December 3, 2012.