Rosamund Pike reveals she refused to strip off to win James Bond role

The English actress put her foot down on the issue
Thankful: Pike credited producer Barbara Broccoli with the comfort she felt on set
Dave Benett
Safeeyah Kazi16 August 2018
The Weekender

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Rosamund Pike has told how she refused to drop her clothes in order to win a role in the 2002 James Bond film, Die Another Day.

The 39-year-old actress was just 21 when she auditioned for the role of double agent Miranda Frost in Pierce Brosnan’s rendition of Bond.

Speaking to Amazon’s Audible Sessions, Pike recalled how she was asked to appear in a revealing outfit and told to “drop” her dress in the audition, a request she refused.

She said “On the day – I don’t know where I got the resolve and strength of mind at 21 but I just thought, ‘Actually, s** that, if they’re going to see me in my underwear, they’d better give me the job.'”

Firm Ground: Pike refused to "drop" her dress for the role
Getty Images

The Gone Girl actress added that she had initially been told to bring an evening dress to the audition and she opted to wear a costume her mother wore as an opera singer.

However, Pike was then reportedly told by the film’s costume designer that her role required her to wear a more revealing outfit.

Pike explained: “He said ‘That’s a very beautiful dress, but in Bond films we wear things a little more like this’, and he held up three pieces of string and I realised I was way out of my depth.

2002: Pike starred in Pierce Brosnan's rendition of Bond in Die Another Day
Dave Benett

“So I put on this shimmering sheath, or whatever was the order of the day, but I didn’t drop it."

Despite her initial worries about a male-dominated film Pike told how she experienced no problems on set, which she credits to producer Barbara Broccoli.

“I look back over my experience on the Bond film and think, my goodness Barbara Broccoli was way ahead of all this #MeToo movement,” she said.

“There wasn’t an ounce of feeling uncomfortable while I was on that set.”

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