Dame Helen Mirren: 'I'm such a feminist, but James Bond has to be a guy'

Dame Helen Mirren has said that while she is a feminist the next James Bond “has to be a guy”.

It comes after Amazon MGM Studios, which has taken creative control over the 007 character, revealed last month that Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight would be writing the script for the next film.

The Oscar-winning actress told Saga Magazine: “I’m such a feminist, but James Bond has to be a guy. You can’t have a woman. It just doesn’t work.

“James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise it becomes something else.”

Dame Helen, 80, stars alongside former 007 actor Pierce Brosnan in the new Thursday Murder Club film, a cosy crime drama adapted from the best-selling book by game show host Richard Osman.

Brosnan, 72, agreed with the actress about the next portrayal of Bond and told the magazine: “Oh, I think it has to be a man.”

Dame Helen Mirren stars in the new Thursday Murder Club film (Jordan Pettitt/PA) PA Media

He added: “I wish (Amazon) them well. I’m so excited to see the next man come on the stage and to see a whole new exuberance and life for this character.

“I adore the world of James Bond. It’s been very good to me. It’s the gift that keeps giving.

“And I’m just a member of the audience now, sitting back, saying: ‘Show us what you’re going to do’.”

Dame Helen previously told the Standard that “the whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism” and added: “Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been.”

In the forthcoming Thursday Murder Club film, the veteran actress plays a retired spy, who is also the founder and leader of the club.

Speaking about her character Elizabeth, she told Saga: “So many women have worked in that world. She’s a manifestation of a reality, that’s for sure.”

Asked if she is a better portrayal of a spy than Bond, Dame Helen said: “More realistic. But not so much fun as Bond!”

Pierce Brosnan and Dame Helen Mirren on the cover of Saga Magazine (Saga Magazine/Giles Keyte/Netflix/PA) PA Media

She added: “The great thing about a movie like this is that it reminds everyone, as an older person I have a brain, I have agency, energy, commitment, passion and intellect. It doesn’t all stop when you’re 40.”

Brosnan said the movie, directed by Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, would also appeal to anyone who likes the film series about wizardry and added: “This is like a Harry Potter retirement home.”

The film, which lands on Netflix on August 28, follows a crime-busting group of retirees, played by Oscar-winning actress Dame Helen, Mamma Mia! star Brosnan, Calendar Girls actress Celia Imrie and Gandhi star Sir Ben Kingsley.

You can read the full interview in Saga Magazine’s September issue.