Rosamund Pike refused to strip off for her James Bond ‘Die Another Day’ audition.
The 39-year-old actress was told she’d have to drop her dress and parade around in her underwear as part of her audition for the 2002 action film but, despite being a 21-year-old budding star hoping to land her big break, she wasn’t prepared to flash the flesh just to secure a movie role alongside leading man Pierce Brosnan.
Speaking on Audible Sessions, a series of interviews recorded by Amazon’s audiobook publisher, Rosamund explained that she was told by producers to wear "three pieces of string" and bring along a sexy dress that she’d have to "drop."
However, she turned up with her mother’s evening dress and when she showed the frock to the costume designer he "didn’t know what to say."
She explained: "Then on the day — I don’t know where I got the resolve and strength of mind at 21 — but I just thought, ‘Actually, sod that, if they’re going to see me in my underwear… He [the costume designer] 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. So I put on this shimmering sheath, or whatever was the order of the day, but I didn’t drop it."
Despite her resistance to strip off, Pike went on to land the part of Bond Girl Miranda Frost opposite Brosnan and she never once felt "uncomfortable" on set.
She said: "I look back over my experience on the Bond film and think, my goodness [the producer] Barbara Broccoli was way ahead of all this #MeToo movement.There wasn’t an ounce of feeling uncomfortable while I was on that set."
The film lead to her securing a number of other big parts, including the role of Amy Dunne – which earned her an Oscar nom for Best Actress – in 2014’s ‘Gone Girl’
Rosamund Pike refused to strip for James Bond audition.
