Playing a so-called "Bond girl" puts an actor in the same club as Halle Berry, Eva Green, Michelle Yeoh, Diana Rigg, and other big names, but it also may come with some second thoughts. After all, James Bond films aren't known for being all that socially progressively, especially when it comes to their depiction of women. And one Bond girl from Daniel Craig's ongoing run as the super-spy just revealed that she actually regrets taking on the role. In a new interview with The Sun, Gemma Arterton, who played Strawberry Fields in 2008's Quantum of Solace, explained how she came to realize "there was so much wrong with Bond women." Keep reading to find out why she takes issue with her character, and for how the Bond movies stack up, check out Ranking Every James Bond Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
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Strawberry's storyline in Quantum of Solace is classic Bond.
Arterton's Strawberry Fields is an MI6 agent in Craig's second outing as 007. Her character is meant to intercept Bond and detain him on his unsanctioned mission to Bolivia to chase down a billionaire crime boss. After threatening to hold him in a jail cell until his flight back out in the morning, she instead follows the spy to a swanky hotel and ends up being seduced by him. (Spoilers!) Before the end of the movie, Agent Fields is killed and covered in oil, her body left as a message for Bond. Of course, he avenges her.
For more characters who met tragic ends, here are The 50 Most Heartbreaking Movie Deaths We're Still Not Over.
Ahead of the film's release, Arterton expressed excitement about the love scenes and her character.
"I felt like a giggly girl, and I felt so young and inexperienced—but I kissed James Bond!" the actor said during a 2008 press conference, as reported by the BBC. Arterton also previewed her character as "fresh and young, not sultry and a femme fatale."
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But over time, she's said that her view of the role has changed.
In September of this year, Arterton (now 34 years old), told The Telegraph that her age and experience had an impact on her choice to take on the role.
"I can't really remember what's in [the movie] or what I did, but I know I wouldn't choose a role like that now," she said, via People. "Because she was funny and she was sweet, but she didn't really have anything to do—or a backstory."
And for more on the next Bond girl, check out Ana de Armas Talks Latina Representation in James Bond.
And she thinks Strawberry should have made some different choices too.
Arterton only had a couple of film credits to her name before her Bond debut, but she reportedly beat out 1,500 other actors for the role. Despite that, as she told The Sun, she's received some blowback for being in the movie due to its somewhat anti-feminist themes. "I still get criticism for accepting Quantum of Solace," she said, "but I was 21, I had a student loan, and you, know, it was a Bond film."
The part did propel her into further success on stage and screen, but Arterton said that "as [she] got older [she] realized there was so much wrong with Bond women."
As for Agent Fields giving into Bond's debonair charm? "Strawberry should have just said no, really," Arterton said of their dalliance, "and worn flat shoes."
And for more show business revelations, check out James Corden Says This Is the Rudest Celebrity He's Ever Met.
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