Live & Let Die's Bond Girl Jane Seymour Says Role Stunted Her Career
Jane Seymour, who plays Solitaire in Live and Let Die, reveals that playing a love interest in a James Bond movie actually stunted her career. Directed by Guy Hamilton, Live and Let Die was released in 1973 to mixed reviews from critics. The film acts as Roger Moore's debut as James Bond following Sean Connery and George Lazenby's takes on the character. Live and Let Die tells the story of Bond's investigation into a drug-dealing dictator orchestrating a deadly plot on his small Caribbean island.
As remains a staple of Bond movies, Live and Let Die features a female love interest for Bond, this time a mysterious tarot card reader named Solitaire. While initially a pawn of Mr. Kananga, the film's villain, Solitaire eventually finds herself romantically entangled with Bond, and the two work together to take the dictator down. Although Moore returned as Bond in The Man With the Golden Gun, Seymour's Solitaire did not, as is often customary with Bond girls. Seymour went on to appear in a host of movies and TV shows, including Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Somewhere In Time, and Wedding Crashers.
In a new interview with EW, Seymour reveals that appearing as Solitaire in Live and Let Die actually hurt her career. The actor explains that it was actually difficult for her to land "serious" acting roles after appearing in the Bond film and that she ultimately made the decision to move "somewhere where they didn't care," which, for her, was the U.S. Check out Seymour's full comment below:
"[After playing a Bond girl,] it was very hard for me to get hired in more serious acting roles. I needed to go somewhere where they didn't care, which was America."
While many would consider a part in a Bond film to be the role of a lifetime, Seymour's comments make clear that the part actually did her more harm than good. While more recent Bond movies attempt to treat 007's female companions with more respect, often making them complex, three-dimensional characters, many past Bond films struggled to give these female characters much to do. Solitaire, like many Bond girls, was more of a "damsel in distress" type of character, existing solely to become romantically entangled with Bond and to be saved.
Like many stars who break out at a relatively young age with a role in a big franchise, Seymour's comments make clear that the role she played in Live and Let Die closed more doors than it opened. Gemma Arterton, who played Strawberry Fields in 2008's Quantum of Solace, had similar comments about her time as a Bond girl, expressing dissatisfaction with how her character was treated in the film and Bond girls in general. With the future of Bond somewhat uncertain at the moment, hopefully, future Bond movies can continue to enhance the roles of "Bond girls" and make them roles to be taken seriously.
Source: EW