Helen Mirren Admits She ‘Never Liked the Way Women Were’ in ‘James Bond’

Helen Mirren has strong feelings about the James Bond film series.

The actress, 79, criticized the spy franchise’s portrayal of women in a recent interview with the U.K. newspaper The London Standard, saying 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 Oscar winner added to the outlet that she also does not want to see a woman take over the titular role in the future, because she would rather shift focus to real-life women in espionage. 

“The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism,” Mirren said, noting 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.”

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The Fast X star has multiple connections to the Bond film series, which is based on the character created by novelist Ian Fleming. Her late cousin Tania Mallet starred as Tilly Masterson, the sister of Bond girl Jill, in the 1964 installment Goldfinger. 

Mirren also stars in the new Paramount+ series MobLand with former Bond actor Pierce Brosnan.  

While Mirren has admitted she is not a fan of the movies, she told The London Standard she has nothing but nice words to share about the actors who have stepped into the role of 007.

The actress told the outlet she is “a massive fan” of Brosnan, 71, who played Bond 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.

As for Daniel Craig, the latest Bond actor, who appeared for the last time as the character in 2021, Mirren said he is “a very lovely gracious person.”

Brosnan said in March that it was a “given” that the next actor to portray the iconic movie character must be British in an interview with The Telegraph. He made the statement following the news that Amazon MGM Studios would be taking over creative control of future Bond projects.

Speaking of his time in the iconic role, he added, “I’m very proud to have been part of the history and the legacy of Bond and the movies that I made with Barbara and Michael,” referring to longtime Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.