James Bond is a beloved franchise but there’s been criticism of the 007 film series over the years, with Helen Mirren, who stars with Pierce Brosnan in MobLand, now speaking out
Actor Helen Mirren has shared that she “never liked” James Bond. She criticised the long-running film series in a recent interview whilst promoting her latest project, in which she stars alongside former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan.
Pierce, 71, is best known for having played the secret agent in four films between 1995 and 2002, prior to Daniel Craig, 57, taking over the role. Helen, 79 – who appears with Pierce in the new Paramount+ show MobLand – praised them both whilst sharing her thoughts on the espionage franchise.
She spoke about James Bond after the Standard asked for her thoughts on the recent news that Amazon MGM Studios has gained “creative control” of the franchise. Helen isn’t just connected to the 007 franchise through working with Pierce, as her late cousin Tania Mallet appeared in the film Goldfinger (1964) as the character Tilly Masterson.
Sharing her thoughts, Helen said that she was “never a great ward” of the franchise, which originated with a series of novels written by Ian Fleming. She went on to compliment both Pierce and Daniel, who are the two most recent leads.
Helen said she’s a “massive fan” of Pierce, who she suggested it had been a “pleasure” to work with on MobLand. She then added that Daniel – who played Bond in five films from 2008 to 2021 – is also a “very lovely gracious person”.
Addressing the franchise itself, Helen continued by saying that the “whole series” was not her “thing”. She told the outlet that she “never liked” James Bond, with her adding: “I never liked the way women were in James Bond.”
The outlet reports that Helen is opposed to a female Bond, with her interested in real stories of women in espionage from history being told instead. The Oscar winner said: “The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism.”
Helen continued: “Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been.” She added that they were “very brave”.
She said that women in the French Resistance during World War II, for example, were “unbelievably courageous”. Helen said that she would therefore tell “real stories” about “extraordinary women” who have worked “in that world”.
Helen isn’t alone in expressing concern over the representation of women in the franchise, which has also drawn criticism over the treatment of some characters. As reported at the time, during his stint as the lead character, Daniel told Esquire magazine in 2015 that he hoped his Bond was not “as sexist and misogynistic” as previous incarnations.
He told the outlet at the time that the world has “changed,” adding: “I am certainly not that person. But he is… so what does that mean? It means you cast great actresses and make the parts as good as you can for the women in the movies.”
It has however been suggested more recently that the character has “ditched sexism and is more socially-aware than ever”. Bond was described as a “changed man” in the most recent film, No Time to Die, which was released in 2021.
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