Italian actress Monica Bellucci started working at a very young age as a model and later transitioned into a film star as she started her acting career in the 1990s. And soon, her impressive work caught the eye of the filmmaker Sam Mendes, who offered her the role of Lucia Sciarra in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre. She was set to star alongside Daniel Craig as a Bond girl. While she was hesitant to take the role initially, The Apartment actress later described it as one of her most defining roles, as she called it revolutionary.
Monica Bellucci on Joining Spectre As a Bond Girl
The female companions or the love interests of the secret agent James Bond are popularly known as Bond Girls. The character was often portrayed by young actresses accompanying the James Bond actors before the 2015 film. So when 50-year-old Monica Bellucci received the offer to star alongside Daniel Craig in the 2015 James Bond film, she was skeptical about the project.
She shared during an interview that she was curious to know her part after her agent told her that she was being approached for Sam Mendes‘ Spectre. Upon learning her role in the movie, she was reportedly doubtful about taking the part.
However, the director assured her that having a mature Bond Girl would be innovative for the franchise. “Actually, it was a revolutionary thing that a 50-year-old woman would be in a film like that,” she shared before adding that she loved working on the film and with its director Sam Mendes.
“It was a very beautiful experience to be in that movie,” she shared. While she enjoyed playing Lucia Sciarra in the 2015 film, the Irréversible actress assumed that she was approached for another role before learning that she would be starring as a Bond Girl alongside the Skyfall star.
Monica Bellucci Assumed She Would Replace Judi Dench
After being approached by Spectre makers, Monica Bellucci had no idea she would receive the offer for a Bond girl considering her age at the time. She shared that based on her age, she assumed which character she was most likely to get in the James Bond franchise.
And she believed that the makers might be planning to replace Judi Dench’s character, M, in the movie. “Who am I going to play? M?!” she asked. And she had the same question for the filmmaker when she met him to discuss the part, “I’m not a girl, I’m a woman. I’m a mature woman. Do I have to replace Judi Dench?”
She shared that she loved the idea of having an adult Bond girl romancing the secret agent. Bellucci, the oldest actress to portray the character in the James Bond series, found a new term to describe her mature James Bond companion, “James Bond lady.”
Daniel Craig’s James Bond franchise is available on Prime Video.
Source: A.frame
