The tradition of French actresses portraying James Bond girls continues in Skyfall. Berenice Marlohe is playing Severine in the 23rd 007 adventure. You may remember Claudine Auger as Domino in Thunderball, Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock in For Your Eyes Only, Sophie Marceau as Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough, Eva Green as Vesper in Casino Royale.
The latest French actress to join the 007 sorority talks about how she won the role and her expectations about being a Bond girl.
Marlohe tells Live magazine about tracking down the casting agent which led to director Sam Mendes which led to a meeting with Daniel Craig.
“At that stage I was so focused on my performance that there was no room for nerves. I also reminded myself that I was meeting Daniel Craig, not James Bond.”
“My character is glamorous and enigmatic,” she said. “I get to see less action on-screen than Naomie Harris but I wanted to get the feel of guns in order to find my way into my character.”
“I definitely see myself more as a Bond Lady than a Bond Girl. The idea of a Bond Girl can be very confusing. As an actress, I know it can be a trap because you’re not sure what people expect. I think it’s quickly changing direction now. You’re more at liberty to develop a real character rather than something abstract.”
“There is more scope now within the Bond movies to create a strong, independent woman. Earlier Bond girls were very dependent women. But I loved what Famke Janssen did in GoldenEye, in the way she portrayed a funny psychopath. In my character I’ve tried to bring a different kind of complexity. If I get recognised more when this movie comes out, I’ll deal with it. If someone says, ‘Hey, there’s that Bond Girl’ I’ll correct them and say, “No, I’m that Bond Lady’.”
To follow-up on some of her points – Naomie Harris is plays a MI6 field agent named Eve. Famke Janssen is my all time favorite 007 villainess and also played Jean Grey in the X-Men movies.
A big question still to ponder: Is Severine a bad girl? Perhaps the companion of the villain played by Javier Bardem? Is Severine the heroine?
By Editor
SPOILER about previous BOND films:
If you haven’t seen Daniel Craig’s previous 007 films and don’t want to know the fates of some characters then stop reading.
OK you’ve been warned.
Daniel Craig’s James Bond has been very unlucky in love with 3 of his 4 leading ladies ending up dead. The one that lived didn’t even have sex with 007. Here’s hoping Severine and Eve have better luck with Bond in the next film.
If you want even more James Bond coverage you should check out MI6.com for very thorough details about everything Skyfall.
By Editor