Actress Gemma Arterton, who portrayed “Strawberry Fields” in the 2008 James Bond thriller, Quantum of Solace, said on Tuesday that no one needs a female James Bond.
Speaking to The Times on Tuesday, Arterton said she saw no need for a woman to step into the role of British super spy James Bond.
When asked if a woman could successfully play Bond, Arterton replied, “They talk about it, but I think people would find it too outrageous. Sometimes you just have to respect the tradition.”
She went farther and insisted, “Isn’t a female James Bond like Mary Poppins being played by a man?”
Arterton also joked at how being in Quantum has been such a notable role for her.
“I don’t regret doing a Bond film, but I am perplexed why it has followed me around. I was only in the film for five minutes,” she said of the her turn in the Bond series.
Arterton is not the only star to shrug shoulders at the idea of gender swapping the James Bond character.
Actress Rachel Weisz, for one, wondered why anyone would want a female Bond and stated, “Why not create your own story rather than jumping onto the shoulders and being compared to all those other male predecessors? Women are really fascinating and interesting, and should get their own stories.”
Ana De Armas agreed and recently said, “There’s no need for a female Bond. There shouldn’t be any need to steal someone else’s character, you know, to take over.”
Current “it” girl actress Jenna Ortega is also not fond of gender swapping James Bond. In September, the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star said that women need their own roles and should not be taking roles from men just for the sake of diversity activists.
The line of thinking seems to comport with that of series producer Barbara Broccoli, as well. Back in 2018, Broccoli dismissed the idea that James Bond could be flipped to Jane Bond.
“Bond is male. He’s a male character. He was written as a male and I think he’ll probably stay as a male,” Broccoli said at the time. “And that’s fine. We don’t have to turn male characters into women. Let’s just create more female characters and make the story fit those female characters.”
The most recent Bond star, Daniel Craig, also rejected a female Bond.
“The answer to that is very simple,” Craig replied when asked if the role should be more diverse. “There should simply be better parts for women and actors of color. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, for a woman?”
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