“I would go to my hotel room and cry”: the ‘Bond girl’ who felt let down by her director
The unwanted attention an actor will receive from entering into a franchise with decades’ worth of fandom is likely unquantifiable in their heads before agreeing to the roles. Whether it’s TV shows like Game of Thrones or the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the majority of actors wouldn’t be able to truly comprehend how their lives would change once their performances were released, for good and bad. For those attached to the James Bond franchise, the connection is unbreakable.
Fans of the super spy are some of the most ardently loyal in the cinematic world. Dedicated to not only the sanctity of the movies gone by but the purity of the secret agent’s story going forward, it is one of the most talked about franchises of all time, and one need only look at the constant speculation as to who will follow Daniel Craig as 007 for proof.
The actors who become Bond usually find it hard to break away from the martini and tuxedo-shaped shadow that is left looming over their careers. Sean Connery may have escaped, but stars like George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan are forever thought of as Bond first and foremost, no matter the role they take on afterwards. But it isn’t just those who play Bond that struggle with the level of fame the series promotes.
The female leads starring opposite Bond are also susceptible to debilitating levels of scrutiny. Tragically known as ‘Bong girls’, many of the actors who took on roles opposite their male counterparts felt near-victimised by the time in the limelight. Michelle Yeoh famously suggested that her career was hampered by her turn in Tomorrow Never Dies as Wai Lin, saying: “At that point, people in the industry couldn’t really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese or Japanese or Korean or if I even spoke English. They would talk very loudly and very slow. I didn’t work for almost two years.”
Another actor who struggled to cope with the increased level of pressure was Denise Richards. Despite having already amassed an interesting career by the time she joined Brosnan for The World Is Not Enough in 1999, Richards found it tough to cope with the press attention and would spend nights in her hotel room weeping. Most of the issues stemmed from the validity of her role as Dr Christmas Jones.
A nuclear physicist with a strong moral compass wasn’t the typical character trope for a ‘Bond girl’, and the development pleased Richards before she signed on. However, audiences soon made fun of Jones’ profession in alignment with her scantily clad wardrobe. Speaking to SpyHards Podcast, Richards said, “I just felt that she was strong and feisty and fun and didn’t care what she looked like.”
Audiences were far tougher on the character of Jones though. “It was very hard when that movie came out because I did get a lot of flack for it, and it was not easy for me with the magnitude of the press that I did,” confirmed Richards. “And to go out there knowing people were making fun of me, that was the first time in my career that I had to deal with something like that.”
To be ridiculed in the press is one thing, but to then have to be the face of the movie, which you are constantly made fun of, is nearly unbearable. “It was very, very difficult for me,” the actor continued, “And I just had to put a smile on my face and go out and do talk shows and then travel the world. I would go to my hotel room and cry because the reviews were making fun of me and saying stuff. It was very, very difficult.”
Richards had suggested changes to Jones’ character but these were denied by director Michael Apted. He refused to allow Richards to embellish his vision and later regretted it. “It meant a lot to me that he [apologised to me],” she shared. “Regardless of all that, I am so grateful and proud that I was part of such an iconic franchise. You never forget it.”
