You can’t have a woman. It just doesn't work," said the actress Mirren previously criticized the Bond franchise in March 2025, stating that she "never liked the way women were" portrayed in it Helen Mirren has strong opinions on James Bond.

"James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise it becomes something else," Mirren adds. Dame Helen Mirren is all for women taking over the world — just not the world of James Bond. In a new interview with Saga magazine alongside her Thursday Murder Club costar Pierce Brosnan,

Dame Helen Mirren has said James Bond should be played by a man, even though she is "such a feminist". In a new interview with Saga Magazine, the Oscar-winning actress said "you can't have a woman. It just doesn't work. James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise it becomes something else".