THIS PAGE: LASHANA WEARS JUMPSUIT, GALVAN. OPPOSITE: EVENING DRESS, GIVENCHY. EARRINGS, BULGARI
A R TS & C U LT U R Eto Die confirmed as Craig’s last outing
as the world’s most famous spy – at the
time of writing, a successor is yet to be
announced – some believe that Lynch
will be integral to the future of the
franchise. Others suggest her “00” prefix
is a gimmicky concession to those who
have lobbied for a female Bond. She
knows better than to tackle this head on.
“I feel very grateful to experience this
conversation happening around me. But
regardless of what’s being said, people
still like to be surprised in the cinema.”
Would she ever accept the
opportunity to become the first female
Bond if it was offered to her? “I don’t
know,” she replies with a melodic,
London twang. “It would depend on a
lot of things. Nomi represents one thing
in this movie, but if she was going to
represent more down the line, I would
want to talk about the black femaleexperience to the high
heavens, and I don’t know if
people are ready for that.”
Once, during filming,
Lashana spoke with Broccoli
about why the producer had
thought of her for the role
of Nomi. Lynch recalls
Barbara telling her, “‘Bond
is an older white guy who
has a certain opinion of the world and
who maybe hasn’t had an experience of
black women in this capacity. Then this
black woman comes along and teaches
him things.’ It blew my mind that
Barbara was ready to say that so frankly,
and was willing to insert that kind of
relationship into a Bond film.”
The vision for her character was at
the top of the agenda when Lynch sat
down with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who
was hired by Broccoli and Craig to add
some of her characteristic, offbeat
humour to the film’s script. “I told
Phoebe I wanted to represent a woman
who was going through real issues,” says
Lynch. “If the character has just broken
up with her boyfriend, I want people to
see that but know she’s turned up to
work and is going to do the best job
possible. I had an idea where Nomi
could be on her period at one point.Phoebe said, ‘Let’s write it.’ There are
moments with the women in the film
where you think, ‘You’re dealing with
so much right now, but you’re still being
badass.’ I think that’s what it means to
be a woman in 2020.”
Lynch won’t be drawn on what it
was like working with Craig, other than
to say it was a “beautiful” experience.
“He brought everything that I needed,”
she says. “I didn’t need to work on
carving out a connection with him.”
Lynch took her mum to watch Craig
film his “emotional” final scene as Bond.
“It felt like such a momentous moment,”
she reflects. “People’s whole lives can
change in the time it takes to shoot one
movie, so for him to have done five is a
massive deal. It’s been years of his life.
But he was so graceful. He did a
20-second speech and then said [she
puts on a low, gravelly voice], ‘Barbara,
you say something.’ That’s him all over.”
The wrap party was as dazzling as
you’d expect. “It was at Freemasons’
Hall in Covent Garden and it was
massive and glamorous and shiny and
moody. Everyone was holding a martini
glass. I never really have martinis, but
I was going to have one that night!”
Although Lynch now finds herself
based in America for months at a time,
home is still London, and she has
recently bought her own place. “I’m a
granny at heart, so everything is very
calm,” she laughs. “I’m a candle, incense,
poetry-book kind of person and I spend
a lot of time on video calls with my
friends and family.”
For all her excitement at the hype
surrounding the film, Lynch is adamant
that the progress reflected in its casting
and portrayal of complex characters
such as Nomi shouldn’t be seen as a sign
that Hollywood has solved its diversity
problem. “I’m really aware of cinema
becoming reliant on one project and
I don’t want No Time to Die to be that
project,” she says firmly. “Nothing has
been completed yet.”
As we say our goodbyes, I ask
what completion would look like?
“When no one reacts to there being a
black lead in a film,” she says. “While
I’m glad that these milestones are
celebrated, the fact that they are means
they’re still delicate and difficult for
people to digest. We need to reverse
where we are, which is, ‘Don’t cast that
person or finance that movie because
it might be a little too forward for
where we are in the world right now.’
If we force the change, people will have
to get used to it.” n
No Time to Die will be in cinemas on 2 April“He brought
everything that
I needed,”
says Lynch of
working with
Daniel Craig.
“I didn’t need to
work on carving
out a connection
with him.”
Below: the
actor in a scene
from the film04-20-Arts-LashanaLynch_1971618.indd 97 30/01/2020 08:2693