Elsewhere in the interview, the actress playing secret service spy Nomi in the latest 007 movie addresses fans' objections that her character takes the iconic codename at the start of the film.
- Nov 7, 2019
AceShowbiz - Lashana Lynch was determined to make sure her new 007 character in the latest James Bond film was true to the lives of real women on screen.
Lynch plays British secret service spy Nomi in the upcoming instalment "No Time to Die", who starts the movie with Bond's iconic codename, as Daniel Craig's superspy is initially in retirement.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the British actress revealed she was determined to make her character different to the glamorous Bond girl archetype, and have her face the same problems as everyday women while serving as a spy.
"I didn't want someone who was slick. I wanted someone who was rough around the edges and who has a past and a history and has issues with her weight and maybe questions what's going on with her boyfriend," she explained.
The 31-year-old star even spoke to the film's co-writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge and director Cary Joji Fukunaga about including one scene in which her character is on her period.
"We had one conversation about her maybe being on her period in one scene, and maybe at the beginning of the scene - and I spoke to Cary about this - throwing her tampon in the thing," she revealed.
Lynch said all of the film's producers, writers, and its director were open to her ideas, adding: "Everyone was really responsive to having her be what I wanted. You're given a fresh perspective on a brand-new black woman in the Bond world."
Nomi being assigned the 007 codename caused some consternation among male fans of the franchise, due to its traditional focus on Bond as a hyper-masculine alpha male who women swoon over. However, the actress is totally unfazed by their objections as she believes their feelings aren't personal.
"It doesn't dishearten me. It makes me feel quite sad for some people because their opinions, they're not even from a mean place - they're actually from a sad place," she mused. "It's not about me. People are reacting to an idea, which has nothing to do with my life."
"No Time to Die" will debut in cinemas in April (20).
