Bond girl praises 007 co-star for “restoring trust in men” in the film
Former Bond girl Halle Berry has reflected on her role in the long-running spy series and had high praise for her James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan.
The Oscar winner, who played NSA agent Jinx Johnson in the 2002 film “Die Another Day,” heaped compliments on her leading man, thanking him for “restoring her faith in men” and describing him as a “gentleman.”
Berry, 58, was Irishman Brosnan’s last Bond girl – the affectionate nickname of the actress who plays the central female role in every 007 film adventure – as he retired from the role after four films.
“He will always be my Bond, always. I’m a Pierce Brosnan fan,” the actress told Wired during the publication’s autocomplete interview.
She added poignantly: “He restored my faith in men in this film. There could be no man more of a gentleman than Pierce Brosnan.”
Catwoman star Berry revealed that the role in a 007 film was “not on my wish list”, but confirmed that she has “always loved films”.
“Having acted in one, I feel like I’m part of film history. These films are iconic. They will be part of our history forever, and I’m really honored to have been part of a film like that – especially with Pierce.”
“Die Another Day” was the 20th film in the James Bond series and was released just in time for the 40th anniversary after Sir Sean Connery first played the role in 1962 in “James Bond 007: Dr. No”.
In the film, directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, Bond is tasked with investigating the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul who is funding the development of an international space weapon.
Over time, a flirtatious romance develops between Bond and Jinx, and Berry has a bikini moment when she emerges from the sea in the film, reminiscent of the original Bond girl Ursula Andress and later referenced again by the next James Bond, Daniel Craig.
Although the plot was inspired by Die Another Day, the film received mixed reviews from critics, despite being influenced by Bond creator Sir Ian Fleming’s novels Moonraker and The Man with the Golden Girl, as well as Kingsley Amis’ novel Colonel Sun.
The film is best known for Madonna’s cameo in an aggressive fencing scene, the cheesy invisible car, and the ridiculous plot involving the gene therapy technology that allows Colonel Tan-Sun Moon (Will Yun Lee) and entrepreneur Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) to be, er, the same person.
Nevertheless, it became the highest-grossing James Bond film of its time.
The film also starred Dame Judi Dech and Rosamund Pike, alongside John Cleese in his first and only appearance as technology fetishist Q, and Samantha Bond in her final appearance as Miss Moneypenny.
It was also the first Bond film since 1973’s Live and Let Die that did not feature Desmond Llewelyn. Llewelyn had played Q from the beginning after he died in 1999 at the age of 85.
Berry is currently riding high following the strong response to her latest Netflix action film Union, which also stars Mark Whalberg and has been described as “amazing” and “pure fun.”
Her upcoming releases also include horror films such as Never Let Go and Maude vs. Maude with Angelina Joliewhich has been described as a mix of Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Mission: Impossible.
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