No Time to Die star Naomie Harris has a brilliant Moneypenny recast idea. Harris became the “new” Moneypenny beginning with 2012’s Skyfall and held onto the role for 2015’s Spectre and this year’s No Time to Die.
Lois Maxwell of course originated the role of M’s secretary Moneypenny (no first name given) in the very first James Bond film Dr. No. In keeping with the times, Moneypenny’s main job in the older Bond films was to flirt with 007 but always be left disappointed in the end, pining for Bond while he was off on his missions (which inevitably involved sleeping with a lot of women). Maxwell would not surrender the somewhat thankless and one-note role of Moneypenny until 1987 when Caroline Bliss took over for the Timothy Dalton era. Samantha Bond then took on the role for the Pierce Brosnan films. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace didn’t even have a Moneypenny, but the character returned with the first name Eve for Skyfall, with Harris getting the chance to present a much more fleshed-out take on the character.
Now with the Daniel Craig Bond era ending everything is up in the air for the long-running secret agent franchise. There has of course already been tons of speculation about who will play Bond when the series returns, but there’s also room to wonder about the other regular characters, including Moneypenny. As it turns out, Harris herself has an idea of who should tackle Moneypenny next, and it’s a very off-beat but strangely fascinating thought. Speaking exclusively to ScreenRant, Harris offered up her very own Moneypenny recast idea, saying “I just think Olivia Coleman, whatever she does is amazing. And I would just love to see her spin on Moneypenny.”
Colman of course is an Oscar-winner for her performance as Queen Ann in The Favourite as well as an Emmy-winner for her performance as Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown. Given her experience playing queens, taking on the role of mere MI6 employee Moneypenny would be something of a demotion for Colman, but at the same time it would indeed be interesting to see how such an accomplished actor would embody the character. Whether Colman herself would be interested in taking very much of a second-fiddle role in a James Bond film is of course another question altogether.
Indeed given Colman’s stature as one of the most lauded actors in movies and television, the role of M would seem to be more up her alley. M of course has already been played by an Oscar-winner in Judi Dench and an Oscar-nominee in Ralph Fiennes so Colman would be in good company if she took on the role herself. But frankly, Colman would be welcome in any Bond role, as her presence always elevates any project she becomes involved in. No Time to Die is now out on DVD and Blu-ray.