Not everyone was psyched when news leaked that Lashana Lynch would make history by becoming the first female, Black 007. In a cover story with Harper’s Bazaar UK, the 32-year-old Brit opens up about how the backlash affected her.
It was so extreme, Lynch deleted her social media apps, saw no one but family members and meditated. She realized it wasn’t personal, she told the mag.
“I am one Black woman—if it were another Black woman cast in the role, it would have been the same conversation, she would have got the same attacks, the same abuse,” she told the outlet. “I just have to remind myself that the conversation is happening and that I'm a part of something that will be very, very revolutionary.”
In No Time To Die, Lynch plays an agent named Nomi. In a pivotal scene, she is given the spy’s code number 007 told to find Daniel Craig and urge him out of retirement.
She hopes to use the role as a stepping stone to open up the narrative around gender and race.
“I feel very grateful that I get to challenge those narratives,” she said. “We're moving away from toxic masculinity, and that's happening because women are being open, demanding and vocal, and calling out misbehavior as soon as we see it.”
Lynch added: “I didn't want to waste an opportunity when it came to what Nomi might represent. I searched for at least one moment in the script where Black audience members would nod their heads, tutting at the reality but glad to see their real life represented. In every project I am part of, no matter the budget or genre, the Black experience that I'm presenting needs to be 100 per cent authentic.”
No Time to Die is set to be released on April 2, 2021.