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French actress Bérénice Marlohe talks
about how she won her "Skyfall" role and her
expectations of the Bond Girl legacy...
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Bérénice Marlohe Talks 'Skyfall'
23rd January 2012
When the casting net went out to find the actress
that would portray the mysterious Sévérine in the
23rd James Bond film "Skyfall", it would not have caught Bérénice
Marlohe had
she not done everything in her power to get the attentions of
the production.
"When I heard there were going to be auditions in
Paris I switched on my computer and tried to get contact details
for
anyone involved in this project - emails, phone numbers,
whatever I could get hold of," she told Live magazine.
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"I managed to track down Sam Mendes’s
agent but nothing came of that. Then I met Debbie McWilliams,
the casting director, which led me to Sam and the producers,
then finally to Daniel Craig."
"At that stage I was so focused
on my performance that there was no room for nerves. I
also reminded myself that I was meeting Daniel Craig, not
James Bond." "Skyfall" will be the first
English-language part for the French actress, who has appeared
in television dramas in her home country, as well as some
advertisements.
"My character is glamorous and enigmatic," she
said. "I get to see less action on screen than Naomie
[Harris] but I wanted to get the feel of guns in order
to find my way into my character."
"I love guns - I
have fake ones at home - so I grabbed the opportunity
to hold a real one on the set. I got to handle a Beretta
70. It’s a nice gun." |
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"I definitely see myself more as a Bond Lady than a Bond Girl.
The idea of a Bond Girl can be very confusing. As an actress,
I know it can be a trap because you’re
not sure what people expect. I think it’s quickly changing
direction now. You’re more at liberty to develop a real
character rather than something abstract."
"There is more scope now within the Bond movies to create a
strong, independent woman. Earlier Bond
Girls were very dependent
women.
But I loved what Famke Janssen did
in "GoldenEye", in the way she portrayed a funny psychopath.
In my character I’ve tried
to bring a different kind of complexity. If I get recognised
more when this movie comes out, I’ll deal with it. If someone
says, 'Hey, there’s that Bond Girl' I’ll correct
them and say, "No, I’m that Bond Lady'."
It is widely assumed that Sévérine is the girlfriend
of Javier Bardem's villain character, but that is speculation.
"As to the question that everyone wants answered: do I
get to kiss Bond? Well, my friends, you’ll just to have
to wait and see."
Briefing
The 23rd James Bond
film, "Skyfall", commenced principal studio photography on 7th November
2011 for a UK
release on October 26th, 2012 and the USA on November
9, 2012. MGM will produce, finance and distribute 007's
23rd adventure in
partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Daniel Craig will
be returning as the legendary British secret agent, alongside Judi
Dench as "M", with Sam Mendes directing a screenplay written by Neal
Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan. The cast will also include Bérénice Marlohe,
Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Wishaw.
The film will shoot at Pinewood Studios and on location in London, England;
Scotland; Shanghai, China and Istanbul, Turkey.
It will be the longest gap between Bond movies without
a change in the lead role. In addition, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of
the EON Productions series of James
Bond films.
