Caroline Munro says "the most iconic Bond girl" is Dame Judi Dench.
The 70-year-old actress portrayed Naomi in 1977’s ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ alongside the late Sir Roger Moore, and Munro believes that in the 007 franchise’s 57-year history, none of the MI6 spy’s love interests have been as highly regarded as Dench, who actually starred as M, the Head of the Secret Intelligence Service, from 1995’s ‘GoldenEye’ until 2015’s ‘Spectre’.
Commenting on equality in Hollywood in an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Munro – who also appeared as a guard in 1967 spy comedy film ‘Casino Royale’, based loosely Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel – said: "The roles are getting better for women. When you think about it, the most iconic Bond girl is Judi Dench."
Munro’s alter ego Naomi is out to execute Bond in the movie and there is a scene when she is flying a helicopter and blasting 007’s submarine, and Munro revealed that a stunt man in a wig actually filmed the explosive scene.
She said: "Well, I didn’t fly the helicopter. That was a lovely stunt man in a black wig."
Munro – who has starred in numerous cult horror and sci-fi films such as ‘Dracula AD 1972’, ‘At the Earth’s Core’ and ‘Maniac’ – started out as a model like Moore, who posed for men’s knitwear campaigns, and she remembers his "very classic" sweaters.
When reminded of his modelling days, Munro said: "Oh that’s right! I knew there was something about him I liked. His knitwear was very classic, really."
Watching the movie business from afar now, Munro is pleased that women are speaking up for themselves after Hollywood was rocked by the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements – which were launched for women to share their stories of sexual abuse and harassment in the wake of the revelations that were made public in 2017 about movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s conduct towards women throughout his Hollywood career.
She said: "I love the fact that women speak out now. I never expected to become an actor. I’ve loved every minute of it and I’ve been very lucky."
Caroline Munro: Judi Dench is the most iconic Bond girl
