“Men think that women, when they’re not able to procreate anymore, become old,” actress says in new interview

Sep 18, 2015 09:29 GMT  ·  By
Monica Bellucci and Daniel Craig will play lovers in the upcoming James Bond movie, “SPECTRE”
   Monica Bellucci and Daniel Craig will play lovers in the upcoming James Bond movie, “SPECTRE”

When she was cast as Daniel Graig’s on-screen love interest in the upcoming “SPECTRE,” Monica Bellucci, 50, became the oldest woman ever to be offered the part of a “Bond girl.” However, there’s a distinction she wants to make in a new interview with The Guardian, one that she has made before: she’s a “Bond lady,” not a girl.

The decision to cast an age-appropriate woman in the famous 007 franchise might not seem like too much of a revolution, but it was just that. Hollywood is notorious for the ageism in most of its casting choices, where male leads can be as old as 60, while female counterparts are hardly ever over the age of 35, even when they play lovers.

Mrs. Bellucci knows that she was part of a revolution and she’s very happy director Sam Mendes thought of her when he cast the role.

Monica Bellucci on the male-driven female industry

“SPECTRE” is coming out this fall and both Daniel Craig and Bellucci have started doing promotional interviews for it. Things will be picking up in the following weeks, and Bellucci’s brand new interview suggests that the entire tour will be one worth keeping an eye on.

Asked why she thinks her casting made so many headlines, the actress responds:

“Because the world is a man’s world. Men have the power in everything: journalism, acting, direction; in banks, finances, schools. All the laws are made by men. Men think that women, when they’re not able to procreate any more, become old. That is not true - they are still amazing! That’s why I think that Sam Mendes, in choosing me, an adult woman, created a big revolution.”

She continues to say that she’s isolated from Hollywood because she lives in Paris, but from what she’s heard and seen so far, she understands that the Europe film industry isn’t as ageist as the North American one.

Actresses like Charlotte Rampling, Chatherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert, who are still working consistently even though “they’re no longer 20,” are proof of that, she says.

James Bond is the most amazing man ever

Gender politics aside, Monica Bellucci says that she’s happy and proud to have been chosen for a part in “SPECTRE.”

In all fairness, she is the exception to the rule of the Bond girl, because the other love interest is played by Lea Seydoux, the French actress who rose to international fame with the critically acclaimed “Blue Is the Warmest Color.”

Daniel Craig is 47, for the sake of argument.

However, Mrs. Bellucci is “proud” to be part of such a successful and meaningful franchise, she says. James Bond is the most amazing man ever, she continues with a smile, asking the interviewer if he wants to know why. “Because he doesn’t exist.”