Other Ideas
10th February 2023
American actress Pam Grier reveals why she turned down the Octopussy role
By MI6 Staff
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American actress Pam Grier has revealed she was approached for the leading Bond girl role but turned it down.
Speaking to EW this week, Grier disclosed that she was approached by Cubby Broccoli about the title role of the 1983 film 'Octopussy'. "My agents had me meet with the Broccoli family, and I'm going, 'I'm not available,'" she explained. "They looked at me and said, 'Well, why are you here?' I go, 'I don't know. My agent told me to come meet.' But I just wanted to do really in-depth character pieces that weren't predictable. I turned down everything."
"I just felt to be a Bond girl would be: What am I going to do?" she said. "Am I going to help rescue him? Is he rescuing me? A Bond girl is an afterthought, a CliffsNote, perhaps. I asked, 'Am I challenging Bond? Am I out to kill him? Will I kill him before he kills me?' They hadn't thought of that. I gave them other ideas, which were much more profound and interesting than what they were doing."
Casting considerations for 'Octopussy' would take a few more interesting turns, including Faye Dunaway, Persis Khambatta, Susie Coelho, Barbara Parkins, Sybil Danning, and Cybill Shepherd. Ultimately, Broccoli concluded that he didn't need a big (expensive) name playing the role, and instead recast Maud Adams who had been screen-testing potential replacements for Roger Moore.
You can read more about the casting process for the film in the MI6 Confidential magazine special 'John Glen: All Time High.'
