Helen Mirren Claims The James Bond Franchise Was 'Born Out Of Profound Sexism'

Yahoo

31-03-2025

Dame Helen Mirren has expressed her dissatisfaction with the portrayal of women in the James Bond film series, stating that it was "born out of profound sexism."
Helen Mirren, however, shared her admiration for the various actors who have portrayed the iconic role over the years, revealing that she's a "massive fan" of former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan.
Mirren has criticized the long-running James Bond films for how women are portrayed.
The "Anna" actress sat down in a recent interview with the U.K. newspaper The London Standard, stating that their roles were "born out of profound sexism."
"The whole series of James Bond, it was not my thing," Mirren said. "It really wasn't. I never liked James Bond. I never liked the way women were in James Bond."
The 79-year-old actress also mentioned that she wouldn't like to see a woman take on the titular spy role anytime soon because she'd rather focus on real-life examples of how women have shown courageous traits.
"The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism," Mirren stated, adding that "women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been."
She continued, "If you hear about what women did in the French Resistance, they're amazingly, unbelievably courageous. So I would tell real stories about extraordinary women who've worked in that world."
Although she may not like the storyline as it concerns women, Mirren has nothing against the actors that has portrayed the role over the years.
The "Fast X" actress has a number of connections with the series as her late cousin Tania Mallet starred as Tilly Masterson, the sister of Bond girl Jill, in the 1964 installment "Goldfinger."
She also stars in the new Paramount+ series "MobLand" with former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan.
Elsewhere, in her chat with the news outlet, she mentioned that she is "a massive fan" of Brosnan, who starred as 007 in four movies from 1995 to 2002.
"Obviously, he's gorgeous and everything, and I think he's fabulous in MobLand, but he also happens to be one of the nicest people you'll ever have the pleasure to work with," she added.
Mirren also shared that Daniel Craig, the latest actor to play the titular spy, is "a very lovely gracious person."
Mirren seemingly knows a thing or two about sexism as she faced it a lot at the budding stage of her screen career.
It was common practice for reviews at the time to praise her "voluptuous" performance or say she was "bursting with grace" on stage.
One such moment was an old interview with Sir Michael Parkinson in 1975, in which he asked her whether or not her "equipment" prevents her from being taken seriously.
"Because serious actresses can't have big bosoms, is that what you mean?" she retorted before rightfully putting Parkinson in his place.
Reminiscing on the blowback from that interview, Mirren said she was "the only person who got criticized for that interview."
She recalled that this kind of sexism "bothered me very much at the time because my ambition was to be a classical actress. I didn't want to be a movie star. I didn't want to be a TV star."
Mirren noted that she wanted to be a "classical actress" but felt "like I was carrying this thing on my back. That it was kind of attached to me."
"It didn't really mean anything, as far as I was concerned, but it was attached to me, and I couldn't escape it," she explained.
Mirren added, "But then I also realized, you just have to live with the cards you have been dealt. I came to terms with it, and you've got to have a sense of humor about it."
Mirren shared her joy in seeing television shows getting their flowers much the same way as films these days.
"When I was growing up and getting into my business, British film was really awful," she laughed. "There was the odd, very noble exception, but generally, it was pretty awful. And the best work was being done on television."
She added that "people who became great and very famous movie directors started their careers on television, and the best writers were on television."