NEWSHelen Mirren Disses 'Sexist' James Bond Franchise: 'Not My Thing'
Helen Mirren called out the 'James Bond' franchise for its outdated, 'sexist' portrayal of women.
Helen Mirren isn’t holding back when it comes to her thoughts on the James Bond franchise.
"The whole series of James Bond, it was not my thing," Mirren said in a recent interview. "It really wasn’t. I never liked James Bond. I never liked the way women were in James Bond."
The Queen star made it clear that while she’s not calling for a female Bond, she does believe the franchise should start depicting women as real-life spies rather than just eye candy.
"The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism," Mirren said. "Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service — they always have been."
Helen Mirren said she never liked 'James Bond' or how women were portrayed in the films.
She went on to highlight the role of women in history, saying, "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."
Despite her feelings about the franchise, Mirren has nothing but praise for the actors who’ve taken on the role of 007.
She told the publication that Daniel Craig, who played the character for the last time in 2021, is "a very lovely, gracious person."
As for Pierce Brosnan, who played the iconic spy from 1995 to 2002, Mirren said she’s a "massive fan" of the actor.
"Obviously, he’s gorgeous and everything,” she said of Brosnan, whom she first worked with in The Long Good Friday (1980).
Pierce Brosnan starred in four 'James Bond' films from 1995 to 2002.
Mirren and Brosnan now play a married couple in MobLand, a new crime drama directed by Guy Ritchie.
“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 of their new Paramount+ series.
The show — which premiered on Sunday, March 30 — was originally developed as a Ray Donovan prequel titled The Donovans, but eventually became its own standalone story. In the series, Mirren plays Maeve Harrigan, the matriarch of an Irish crime family, who runs a London-based drug empire from her luxurious Cotswolds estate.
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Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan star as a married couple in the new Paramount+ series 'MobLand.'
Mirren went on to reflect on her early connection with Brosnan.
"Obviously, The Long Good Friday was many, many years ago, before Pierce was the huge star that he is now, but it's a lovely coincidence that we both appeared in that,” she said.
"That was such a trailblazer of a movie," Mirren added. "I suspect it inspired people like Guy Ritchie, who came along and transformed the whole British gangster movie genre."
The two previously starred in the 1980 film 'The Long Good Friday.'
Brosnan, for his part, is just as complimentary about his longtime friend and costar.
"We enjoy each other's company a lot," Brosnan told The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm a great admirer of Helen's work. I think she's a beautiful woman. I've admired her from afar for many years and my first movie was with her — but it wasn't really with her. I was just somewhere in the film. It's a movie called The Long Good Friday."
He added, "She's a powerhouse of a woman, a powerhouse of an actress. She's got a lot of heart, a lot of soul. I love her to bits.”
The Standard interviewed Mirren.
