Gemma Arterton isn’t afraid to speak her mind on film sets.
The 34-year-old actress says her self-confidence has improved since she started out in the film industry, as she used to do whatever was asked of her, and will now stand up for herself, even if it makes her seem "difficult".
Gemma says there have been times in which she has been asked to take part in an "intimate moment or scene that was not in the script", and now puts her foot down and refuses if it makes her uncomfortable.
She said: "So it’ll be: ‘You’ll do the scene like this, and now just go and make out with that actor over there.’ And you’re thinking: ‘Hang on, that’s not in the script, and you haven’t even spoken to me about that.’
"And at that point you’re in front of all the crew and under pressure, when you should have dialogue way before that where you get asked: ‘Are you cool with this?’ Now I will say something. I don’t mind if I seem a bit difficult, whereas when I was younger I would have thought: ‘Who am I to challenge that?’ "
The ‘Quantum of Solace’ star also admits she’ll never take on a Bond girl role again after starring as Strawberry Fields in the 2008 spy flick, because her character "didn’t really have anything to do".
When asked about the role, Gemma – who was just 21 when the movie was filmed – said: "You know, I haven’t seen it for about 15 years either, so I can’t really remember what’s in it or what I did, but I know I wouldn’t choose a role like that now. [The character] was funny and she was sweet, but she didn’t really have anything to do – or a backstory."
The actress says she feels "enormous gratitude" to Bond producer Barbara Broccoli for casting her, but admits she had no idea "how long that film would follow [her] around".
The upcoming Bond film, ‘No Time To Die’, features a script written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Gemma has said she hopes the ‘Fleabag’ star gives the female characters in the movie – which will star Ana de Armas, Lashana Lynch, Léa Seydoux, and Naomie Harris – more substance.
She added during an interview with The Sunday Telegraph’s Stella magazine: "I don’t know what she’s going to do with it, but the main thing you hope is that they still have the good lines – the punchlines. And that they’re funny."