‘Profound sexism’: Helen Mirren slams the James Bond franchise

Dame Helen Mirren was recently asked about her thoughts on James Bond, considering Pierce Brosnan, the fifth actor to play 007 is her co-star in her newest series MobLand. In the new Guy Ritchie series, Helen and Pierce play a couple that heads a dangerous crime family; the series also features Tom Hardy as the couple's enforcer.

Why did MobLand star Helen Mirren call out the James Bond franchise as sexist

Mirren who has won an Academy Award called out the James Bond franchise as sexist. The James Bond series, was acquired by Amazon MGM Studios earlier this year as longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson announced they would step back from the franchise. Mirren has personal connections to the franchise, as her late cousin Tania Mallet portrayed Bond girl Tilly Masterson, and of course, her MobLand co-star Brosnan famously played the British secret agent from 1995 to 2002.

While Mirren expressed her admiration for Brosnan and the "very lovely" former Bond actor Daniel Craig, she admitted that she has never been a big fan of the series. “I have to say I was never a great ward [of Bond],” Mirren says. “I’m a huge fan of Pierce Brosnan, I mean massive fan. I mean, oh my god. Obviously, he’s gorgeous and everything, and I think he’s fabulous in MobLand, but he also happens to be one of the nicest people you’ll ever have the pleasure to work with. And indeed Daniel Craig, who I’ve met and know a little bit. Again, a very lovely gracious person.”

"The whole series of James Bond, it was not my thing," she revealed. "It really wasn’t. I never liked James Bond. I never liked the way women were in James Bond." The Queen actress also voiced her concerns about casting an actress as Bond, advocating instead for the representation of real-life female spies.

“The whole concept of James Bond is drenched and born out of profound sexism,” Mirren stated. “Women have always been a major and incredibly important part of the Secret Service, they always have been. And very brave. If you hear about what women did in the French Resistance, they’re amazingly, unbelievably courageous. So I would tell real stories about extraordinary women who've worked in that world.”