Helen Mirren says James Bond is “drenched in profound sexism”
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(Credit: Harald Krichel)
It looks unlikely Helen Mirren will appear in any upcoming reboot of the James Bond franchise, no matter who ends up in 007’s suit. In a recent interview, the Oscar winner revealed that she has never been a big fan of the beloved character.
Mirren has appeared on screen with several Bond actors over the years, including Pierce Brosnan, with whom she stars in the upcoming Guy Ritchie series MobLand. She is also the cousin of the late Tania Mallet, who played the sister of the gold-painted Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in 1964’s Goldfinger.
In an interview with The Standard, however, Mirren was frank. “I have to say I was never a great ward [of Bond],” she said, quickly adding that she adores Brosnan and regards Daniel Craig as “a very lovely and gracious person.” Her issue is with the portrayal of women.
“The whole series of James Bond, it was not my thing,” she explained. “It really wasn’t. I never liked James Bond. I never liked the way women were in James Bond.”
Mirren is far from the only person to point out that the so-called ‘Bond girls’ are deeply rooted in misogyny. From the beginning, their function in each film was to be eye candy for the audience and a quick dalliance for 007.
Though the franchise has attempted to move with the times, leaving the objectification of Ursula Andress and names like Pussy Galore in the past, it still hasn’t reckoned with what Mirren believes is its fundamental flaw.
“The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism,” she said. “Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been. And very brave. If you hear about what women did in the French Resistance, they’re amazingly, unbelievably courageous.” Rather than continuing to tell stories about Bond, she thinks it’s high time producers started putting the stories of female agents front and centre.
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