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James Bond star Naomie Harris would "hate" to never play Moneypenny again

"I would love to come back," says the actress, who has played Eve Moneypenny in three films.

Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny in No Time to Die

Danjaq, LLC & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.

Published: Saturday, 18 December 2021 at 9:00 am

Daniel Craig's swan song as James Bond, No Time to Die, certainly had a sense of finality about it – but with Craig bidding farewell to the role of agent 007 after five films, does that mean we've also seen the last of other key players from his era?

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Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Naomie Harris insisted that she hasn't had a definitive answer on whether she'll play Moneypenny again, adding that she's very much open to the possibility.

"I don't [know], I wish I did," she said. "I would love to come back, because the franchise means so much to me.

"Most of the time as an actor, you're going from job to job and you form these intense bonds with people for three, four months, and then you never see them again, but this has been some form of continuity in my life for the last decade.

"I've loved it – it's felt like reuniting with the family every time I've gone back to do a Bond movie, so I would hate to lose that in my life. But, you know, the franchise needs to go where it needs to go, so I don't know what the future holds."

Harris said it was "just beautiful" to reunite with the other returning players from the Craig era on each new movie, including Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M and Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner.

"They are such lovely, lovely guys, and we had such a great time together. It was very long hours, a lot of night shoots, but it was so fun to be together late at night and just being playing games and taking the mickey out of each other. Everyone has such a great sense of humour – particularly Rory, he's hilarious. So we just had a lot of fun."

Naomie Harris as Moneypenny alongside Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner and Ben Whishaw as Q in a scene from No Time to Die

Naomie Harris as Moneypenny alongside Rory Kinnear as Bill Tanner and Ben Whishaw as Q in a scene from No Time to Die 2021 Danjaq, LLC & Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc

Though the manner in which Craig's Bond exits the series might suggest that another reboot is on the cards for Bond 26, it's worth remembering that the franchise has carried over actors from one continuity to another before – with Judi Dench playing two different versions of M in the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig movies.

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But if No Time to Die is to be Harris's final film as Moneypenny, she is "super, super proud" of the contribution she made to the franchise and the manner in which the character evolved across the three films in which she appeared.

"I'm super proud of it, but also that's because that was allowed by [producers] Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and [Skyfall and Spectre director] Sam Mendes," she said. "They wanted a Moneypenny that was a real departure, they wanted to modernise her, they wanted to make her more multifaceted. So I am so thankful to them for their vision."

Read more about James Bond:

No Time to Die is available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD from 20th December. Visit our Movies hub for more news, interviews and features, or find something to watch with our TV Guide.

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Authors

Morgan Jeffery

Morgan Jeffery

Morgan Jeffery is as a TV and Film expert and has appeared on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.

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