KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — No Time To Die actress Ana De Armas said she saw no need to gender swap agent 007.
Armas told The Sun that she would like to see women playing more complex roles alongside James Bond in future installments.
"What I would like is that the female roles in the Bond films, even though Bond will continue to be a man, are brought to life in a different way,” Armas told The Sun.
"That they’re given a more substantial part and recognition. That’s what I think is more interesting than flipping things.”
The actress shared the same sentiments as her co-star, 007 himself, Daniel Craig on turning Bond into a woman.
"The answer to that is very simple," Craig told Radio Times during a 2021 interview.
"There should simply be better parts for women and actors of colour. Why should a woman play James Bond when there should be a part just as good as James Bond, but for a woman?”
No Time To Die saw Craig's final outing as James Bond and introduced Armas as Paloma, a Cuban agent who appears for a brief but memorable sequence.
Her character’s last words: "Next time, stay longer” have rung true with fans of the series awaiting Paloma’s return.
Armas’ latest film, Netflix’s The Gray Man, sees her stepping back into the spy-thriller genre as CIA agent Dani Miranda.
Starring alongside Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, Armas’ character is in the thick of the action scenes.
The actress underwent intense gun and fight stunt training, just as much as her male co-stars.
"The accumulation of bruises and injuries and just tiredness and you have to keep working,” the actress said.
"And it takes what, like in this one, three months of prep plus five months of shooting and travelling and it takes a toll on you and you have to keep going... and the energy.”
Armas is also set to return to Netflix this September as legendary actress Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s biopic, Blondie.
The Gray Man premieres on Netflix Friday, July 22.
