Eva Green is in talks to play the female lead in Disney's live-action adaptation of 'Dumbo'.

Eva Green

Eva Green

The 36-year-old actress has held discussions with the studio about playing a starring role in the new Tim Burton-directed movie, which will be a fusion of live action and animation.

Disney is eager to find a star performer for the new film after a deal for Chris Pine to play the male lead recently fell through, according to Deadline.

The studio has enjoyed considerable commercial success with live-action movies over recent years, having produced the likes of 'Cinderella', 'The Jungle Book' and the new 'Beauty and the Beast', which stars Emma Watson.

And Disney will hope to achieve similar success with an updated version of the 1941 animated movie about a baby elephant with unusually large ears.

Meanwhile, Eva revealed last year that she gets "sad" when she's typecast as a "femme fatale" - and revealed she's actually a "geek".

She shared: "I often get asked if I get worried about being a typecast as a femme fatale. But I have played so many other things! It makes me sad. Is that how people see me, as a dark kind of icy image? I hope not. I am not a Goth. I am a big geek!"

And despite being one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Eva also admitted she has not always been so confident.

Eva explained: "I was very, very shy as a child, so I felt a bit withdrawn and people always said I was strange. They still say that today.

"I've started thinking maybe I am. Because I am not confident to go to parties and do all that 'lah-lah-lah, ha-ha-ha', I have to be a bit violent with myself to do things like that."