The 'Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters' actress admits she's got a lost of criticism for playing Bond girl in the 2008, but claims that she only agreed to take the role because she needed the money.
- Dec 29, 2020
AceShowbiz - Gemma Arterton has shared her regret about starring as Bond girl in "Quantum of Solace". Like many other actresses before and after her, the role has become a major stepping stone in her career, but the British beauty isn't proud of it.
Now, more than a decade later, Arterton realized that Bond movies are sexist. Admitting that she's got a lot of criticism for taking the role, she defended her decision at the time because she was as "poor as a church mouse."
"At the beginning of my career, I was poor as a church mouse and I was happy just to be able to work and earn a living," she told The Sun. "I still get criticism for accepting 'Quantum of Solace', but I was 21, I had a student loan, and you, know, it was a Bond film."
"But as I got older I saw there was so much wrong with Bond women," she acknowledged, before sharing what she would've changed about her character's storyline, "Strawberry should have just said no, really, and worn flat shoes."
Arterton played intelligence operative Strawberry Fields in the 2008 movie, the second film to star Daniel Craig as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Having just made her professional stage debut playing Rosaline in Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost" at the Globe Theatre in 2007 and scored her first feature film role in 2007's comedy "St Trinian", playing Bond girl in "Quantum of Solace" marks her breakthrough role, which also earned her an Empire Award for Best Newcomer.
Making amends of her past decision that she regrets, Arterton set up her own production company Rebel Park in 2013, which aims to promote female talent and help secure equal pay in the film industry. She explained, "I have my own production company which is all about giving women an opportunity in film."
"It's [the industry] getting better but it definitely isn't there yet. I struggled with that a little bit at first but I'll keep making suggestions to people," she continued. "I look forward to getting older and wiser."
She went on sharing, "My role model is my grandfather. Even in his mid-nineties he gave the impression of being in his twenties. He was very sharp-minded and looked like Clark Gable with his mustache and hair. He was still sexy - a really hot guy. I secretly hope I've inherited his genes."
