Hey all, on to more fun at the New York junket for 007’s latest thrill ride, Skyfall, we had the pleasure of an exclusive interview with an actress we’ve watched for ages in 28 Days Later, the Pirates of the Caribbean series and Ninja Assassin.  Naomie Harris is the latest lady to go toe-to-toe with James Bond.

Naomie Harris:  Yeah, definitely.  Definitely!  Like yesterday, I tried to go to Bloomingdales and there were a load of people outside of the hotel who wanted autographs and there were paparazzi who followed me down the street, and I’ve never had that before.  Never!  Yeah, it’s completely changed, really different.

I think it’ll die down after the movie’s out.  They’re just excited now.

LMD:  I don’t know, you’re a Bond lady, you’re immortal now.  What’s more in my conversations with Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and Bérénice Marlohe, we discussed the prospect that this might be the first time that both Bond girls are not Caucasian.

NH:  Hmmm… exciting stuff!  Progress!

LMD:  I asked Barbara Broccoli about it and she said they didn’t even notice.

NH:  Yeah, it’s so true.  It’s so true because the casting of my character, I know they just cast and they didn’t necessarily want anyone of any ethnicity; they just wanted the best person for the role. It’s really cool. They’re so progressive.  They’re amazing, the producers are brilliant.  I love them.

LMD:  Your scenes with Daniel Craig just spark really nicely.  Can you talk about how you worked on your scenes, particularly the repartee in the new MI6 and the scene of you two walking through the casino?  Did you have a lot of rehearsal?

NW:  We didn’t have much rehearsal at all, really.  You don’t generally for film.  It was just, I don’t know, we just did it.  We just had fun.  I think the great thing for me was that Sam made me feel incredibly relaxed and comfortable as though I could fail if I wanted to; it was no big deal we could do it again.  And then Daniel just made it fun cos he just made me laugh.  And that’s what I think chemistry comes from, when you’re just relaxed and you’re just having fun with each other, you’re just playing and that’s what we were doing.

LMD:  Skyfall is loaded with characters that are broken and damaged in some form or other.  Eve is not, or at least appears to be well-adjusted and has such a sense of humour even in dire circumstances.  Did you make up a backstory for Eve?

NH:  Oh gosh, I made a whole backstory for Eve.  Eve is like -- what was the whole thing that I made up -- oh yeah, her mother got killed in front of her and that’s why she always was obsessed with becoming an agent because she wanted to bring justice into the world and catch the bad guys.  Catching every bad guy was like catching the person who killed her mother.  So definitely, I really went to town with my imagination on that one.

LMD:  Well, you went to town and then you really went to town.  You’re introduced very dramatically with a heck of an opening sequence; driving through the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and then shooting and fighting.  This is different for you.  Can you talk about the training and physicality of the role?

NH:  Yes, there was lots of training; it was like two months of training, five days a week, two hours a day.  Yeah, it was really a lot.  I did that and then I did three days a week I was on the gun range, as well, learning to fire Walther PPK’s and machine guns and sniper rifles, and then I was also out doing combat training once a week, and then stunt driving twice a week.  I learned how to shave, as well.  I was trained by a barber.

LMD:  Were you a little hesitant to think of the fact that you are the girl who potentially killed James Bond?

NW:  Yeah, I was. I was like, ‘Really, do we have to do that? Really? Can’t we change it, Sam?’ I thought I was never going to live it down and people were just going to hate my character from that moment onwards, but actually, no one’s really seemed to mind that much.  They seemed to have kind of forgiven me, which is really nice.

LMD:  I don’t want to give away spoilers, but let’s just say your character has a wonderful surprise.  Did you know about the surprise when you signed up?

NW:  Yeah, and I completely knew about the whole journey of the character when I signed on. Actually, it was a great role already and the journey that she goes on ultimately made her even more exciting.

LMD:  You’ve been vocal about your thoughts on the lack of female input on the film industry.  On Skyfall, you’re working with Barbara Broccoli, who is one of the most successful female movie producers.  Can you talk about her contribution and what difference she makes as a woman to this franchise or to the experience of making the film?

NH:  She makes a huge difference because she is so maternal, so you have this incredible mix of this businesswoman -- and she’s a very successful businesswoman -- but she brings all that maternal, caring instinct to the film.  So you feel incredibly looked after.  You feel like you’re welcomed into a family.  And that mixture of family and business I’ve never had before and that’s a very female thing, I think to have that kind of maternal care is what you feel.

LMD:  On the other side of that is that the Bond films seem to be very much a guy’s territory.  Can you ever picture a female Bond director, or is that notion just too far off?

NH:  I definitely could picture that because I don’t think they’re just male territory; women love them.  So I don’t think it’s just guy’s territory at all.  I could see a woman Bond director, definitely.

LMD:  Since a lot of the theme of Skyfall is old versus new, can you talk about Bond girls of the past and why they’re so iconic, and why they resonate so strongly with people and how they’ve progressed through the years to the point where you are here.

NH:  I think they resonate because we grow up with them.  They’ve been around for such a long time.  There’s something fun about them.  It’s kind of playful and that’s how it’s historically been.  But now, Barbara, Sam, Eon generally are just playing with that and really flipping it on its head and totally making it modern, totally making it relevant.  Cos it wouldn’t make sense if you had a woman and all she had to offer was big boobs and some strong thighs, you know what I mean?  It doesn’t make sense anymore.  So they make it relevant and reflective of women today; women today are capable of anything, women today are doing all kinds of professions and I think it’s wonderful that it does that.  And I think that it makes people even more excited about these roles because they’re old; they’ve got the classic elements of the class, the sort of mysterious quality to them, but then they’re also reflective of the times, as well.

LMD:  With that said and having grown up with Bond girls; who’s your favourite?

NH:  My favourite is Grace Jones.  I love Grace Jones!  There’s never been a Bond woman like Grace Jones.  I mean, she is fierce!  I love her outfits.  Like I would wear her outfits today, seriously, it’s amazing.

LMD:  You’re doing so well, I’d love to know what’s next for you?

NH:  Well, I finished Bond and two days later I went out to play Winnie Mandela in a movie called Long Walk to Freedom.

~ The Lady Miz Diva

October 15^th, 2012

Click here for our exclusive interview with the Bond film series producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.

Click here for our exclusive interview with new Bond Girl, Bérénice Marlohe.

Click here for our coverage of the Skyfall New York Press conference, with our questions for director Sam Mendes, new Bond villain, Javier Bardem and Bond, James Bond, himself, Daniel Craig.