Pierce Brosnan somewhat agrees with Helen Mirren about James Bond sexism

In her remarks, Mirren also claimed the franchise was “not [her] thing” (despite previously lobbying to play a villain in one of the films) and that she “never liked the way women were in James Bond,” advocating against a woman taking on the titular role on these grounds. Brosnan, however, opined that, while he did concur on some points, “there’s a certain world and room to move within the proscenium arch of what Ian Fleming put down. So there’s always going to be conflict.” Either way, the two stars “didn’t talk about that” on the set of their Paramount+ series, so it didn’t cause any trouble in MobLand.

Brosnan has addressed allegations of the Bond franchise’s sexism before. Responding to his successor Daniel Craig’s suggestion that his Bond was “not as sexist and misogynist” as previous takes, Brosnan told Digital Spy that he “never thought of [the character] like that.” “I saw him as a solitary, enigmatic character,” he continued, adding that he did agree with Craig’s feeling that 007 was “very fucking lonely.”

“I saw him as a fellow who carries a certain amount of pain and angst. Deep down as someone who’s quite troubled, and solitary—[though] Ian Fleming really doesn’t give you a lot to hang your hat on,” he added.

Of course, all of this may change in the Amazon era, as the studio just took over from long-time Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Bond’s new overlords are already teasing “a fresh, exhilarating new chapter” for the iconic character, so the stars may be having a different debate entirely in the near future.