By The excellent Naomie Harris, probably best known to American audiences for her role in the first two Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, has been officially confirmed as having held talks for an unknown part in the upcoming James Bond movie.
After rumours began circulating of Harris’ involvement, EW contacted the movie’s producers, who confirmed that they had met with the actress. Should Harris be auditioning for the lead female role, and I sincerely hope that she is, she could potentially hold the honour of becoming the first black Bond girl. Black actresses have filled a number of supporting parts, notably Gloria Hendry as Rosie Carver in Live And Let Die and Grace Jones as Mayday in the series’ nadir A View To A Kill, but never been selected as Bond’s number one.
As much as I’d love to see Harris in the movie, my worry is her reputation for taking ‘tough girl’ roles, with a filmography including Miami Vice, Street Kings and Ninja Assassin. Whilst no-one wants another Mary Goodnight simpering away in the background, let’s hope the writers haven’t gone for another ‘female Bond’ figure, as Halle Berry’s Jinx single-handedly destroyed the credibility of that trope. Harris is a terrific actress, so hopefully she’ll be able to put those skills to good use and raise a few suggestive eyebrows in the process.
[via EW]