Naomie Harris Interview For ‘Skyfall’

Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in ’Skyfall,’ the 23rd installment of the longest-running film franchise in history. In ’Skyfall,’ Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past returns to haunt her. 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. When Bond’s latest assignment goes gravely wrong and several undercover agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked, forcing M to relocate the agency. These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee.  With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M is left with one ally she can trust: Bond.  007 takes to the shadows – aided only by field agent, Eve (Naomie Harris) – following a trail to the mysterious Silva (Javier Bardem), whose lethal and hidden motives have yet to reveal themselves. Directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, Road to Perdition), ’Skyfall’ also stars Bérénice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw, Tonia Sotiropoulou, Albert Finney and Ola Rapace. ‘Skyfall’ will begin its worldwide roll-out in the UK and Ireland on October 26th, with a North American release following on November 9th.

Do you remember your initial reaction when you heard you were cast as Eve in ‘Skyfall’?

Naomie Harris: I couldn’t believe it, I thought they were having a joke (laughs). I know that they auditioned thousands of girls, they auditioned all around the world, so I thought I was thrown in there to make up numbers (laughs). I didn’t think anyone would see me as a Bond girl. For me it’s a huge, huge honour because I grew up watching these movies and loving these movies. I truly never thought I would be a part of them. I was so over the moon.

Can you tell us a little about where we meet Eve in ‘Skyfall’? She’s a multi-layered, highly skilled, engaging character….

Naomie Harris: Thanks, I hope so (laughs). When we meet Eve, she’s a field agent, we meet her in the beginning out in the field on a mission with Bond. She sees him as her equal, but also as someone she admires because he is the ultimate field agent. Eve wants to learn from Bond, but she’s also kind of showing off in the beginning as well because she wants to be – in the beginning – a female version of Bond. She discovers pretty fast that she’s not quite as necessarily good as she’d like to think she is (laughs). She’s not afraid to stand her ground with Bond, and I think that makes her so much more interesting. Eve and Bond get on really well, they have a great banter and I think there’s a mutual respect there. And Eve, she’s very independent, very intelligent, very witty, very fun, courageous. She’s a woman that I admire and would want to be, but I don’t have half as much courage as she has (laughs). Playing Eve really allowed me to highlight the more adventurous side of my personality, which was a lot of fun.

How did you find the experience of working with director Sam Mendes? What was it about his direction that you appreciated?

Naomie Harris: For me it was a sense of feeling totally looked after and protected. They’re small things, well, they seem like small things but they’re actually huge to an actor…..for instance, often directors will stand over by the monitor and shout their directions across set, so everyone hears it. That can be quite brutal sometimes, to hear what the director is going to say and everyone hears it. Sam Mendes will never ever do that, he’ll always come to you and whisper directions to you. It’s just very sensitive, very caring, you just feel very taken care of.

What are your thoughts on what Daniel Craig has brought to James Bond, his incarnation of the character?

Naomie Harris: I really did enjoy in ‘Casino Royale’ the change of direction for the Bond movies. I really loved that Daniel Craig came in, and now I understand being a part of this whole process how hard it is to come in with expectations and pressure, the interest of the media and all those kinds of things. Then to come in and do what Daniel did, to make it his own, make something unique, take it in a completely different direction, I really respect that. And seeing that in ‘Casino Royale,’ it was a Bond movie that I really enjoyed and I went on an amazing journey with. I got emotionally involved as well, I had a tear in my eye. I’d never watched a Bond movie and felt that before, so that’s a moment that I think that I’ll always think of about Daniel Craig’s James Bond. And Daniel, he’s amazing to work with.

And with ‘Skyfall,‘ there seems to be a conscious effort to balance the old and new, the traditional and the modern, with the characters, the themes, dramatically….?

Naomie Harris: Yeah, definitely. It has these classic Bond elements, they’re back, the gadgets are back, the right sense of humour is back. All of these elements that have sometimes got lost in the Bond movies, they’re now all back. But also with a real modern spin as well. I think people will love Javier Bardem’s performance as well because he’s an extraordinary actor and he’s done something absolutely amazing with Silva. Getting to explore Bond’s history as well, and to get to know him better, I think that’s going to be really exciting for audiences.

Did you have a favourite scene or experience working on ‘Skyfall’?

Naomie Harris: Actually, it wasn’t anything to do with the stunt stuff. I think for me my favourite scene and experience generally was doing the shaving scene, because I actually got to do shaving lessons. So I had to learn how to shave on a balloon with shaving foam and a real barber taught me. So I learnt this other skill, and I was really excited to put it to use (laughs). Also because I don’t generally play with the sexual side of the character, so it was actually nice to explore that.