Helen Mirren said James Bond should not be played by a woman because 'it just doesn't work' in an August 2025 interview. She previously criticized the Bond franchise in March 2025, stating that she "never liked the way women were" portrayed in it.

Dame Helen Mirren has said James Bond should be played by a man, even though she is "such a feminist". In a new interview with Saga Magazine, the Oscar-winning actor said "you can't have a woman. It just doesn't work. James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise it becomes something else".

Helen Mirren is against casting a woman to play James Bond as speculation swirls around the actors vying to portray the character after Daniel Craig.