Skyfall, the James Bond flick scheduled to release in 2012, has black entertainment abuzz after naming UK-born Naomie Harris, as part of the cast. You’ll remember this actress from the sizzling sex scene opposite Jamie Foxx in Miami Vice. I sure do.
While not an official “Bond girl” i.e. willing conquest of 007’s infamous powers of seduction, Harris makes history as the first black woman to ever be cast as Jane Moneypenny, Second Officer and secretary to M, Bond’s boss. Over the years the Moneypenny character has secretly lusted for 007, but unlike actual Bond girls, her relationship with the spy is strictly professional.
I may be forced to take offense if that dynamic suddenly up and changes now that Naomie Harris fills in as Miss Moneypenny. Yet I digress. The franchise is no stranger to African-American Bond girls, though they have come few and far in between over the decades. That also rings true for black actors across the board. So it’s always exciting news when an actress like Naomie is cast in a major role in a classically white franchise like Bond and definitely re-ignites my interest in the never-ending 007 sequels.
It also got us thinking about the 007 world as a whole and how black people have graced Bond films in years past.
While we wait over a year for the release of Skyfall, enjoy this little trip down memory lane for a look at the best black Bond characters and the milestones the actors achieved:
Halle Berry as Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson
Die Another Day (2002)
To say it was a big deal is an understatement when Halle stepped on screen as an actual Bond girl/NSA agent. She was stunning in the Starburst orange bikini, complete with very superhero-esque belt holster and her glory walk on the beach helped a lot of young men through puberty. While there was no way the on-screen hanky panky between 007 of the day, Pierce Brosnan and Berry could ever match the hype, the scene itself was tame and rather lame. Though first in our list, Halle was far from the first black woman to get it on with 007. That honor goes to the next vixen.
Gloria Hendry as Rosie Carver
Live and Let Die (1973)
It was a good year for Black America in the early 70’s, with a James Bond flick set in Harlem and the Carribbean, a ton of black actors were cast in Live and Let Die. Not only did the movie star Roger Moore as 007 for the first time, it also cast Gloria Hendry as the first African-American Bond girl in the role of Rosie Carver. The move turned some heads state side, as the love scene between 007 and Rosie was “censored” in some parts of the world.
Colin Salmon as Charles Robinson
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002)
Well-known in the UK, Englishman, Charles Robinson is a likely contender if a black actor is ever cast as James Bond. He’s certainly got all the credentials–tall, stalwart, English. And he’s already been in three 007 movies as the high-ranking MI6 (British version of CIA) officer Charles Robinson, who serves as point-of-contact for James Bond in the field.
Yaphet Kotto as Dr. Kananga aka Mr. Big
Live and Let Die (1973)
In Live and Let Die, the Evil Mastermind was a smooth talking Hatian politician by day and a Harlem gangster by night. This film premiered when Blaxplotation films were at a peak and the James Bond flick of the day took on as many of those film tropes as it could: heroine pushing black mobsters, jive talk and a boss named Mr. Big. It was all deftly rolled in with typical Bond fair, which worked well at the box offices. Little known fact, Bronx-native Yaphet Kotto was born and raised a Jew. Whaaaat?
Grace Jones as Mayday
A View to Kill (1985)
A year after playing opposite Governor Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer, (way better than the 2011 Conan movie btw), the wild, domineering and leather-clad Grace Jones gave movies audiences a visually striking stunt. The 5’9″ Jamaican-born actress crushed Moore-as-Bond with a bear hug in her official Bond girl role as Mayday. By the mid-eighties, interracial love scenes were nearly run of the mill, but there’s obviously nothing common about a love scene with Grace Jones. Look at those cheek bones!
Julius W. Harris as Tee Hee
Live and Let Die (1973)
The Henchman with a sense of humor, Tee Hee, was played by prolific actor, Julius W. Harris. In the film, the villain appears with a mechanical pincher in lieu of an arm, a character element suggested by Harris and later adopted into the plot by filmmakers. Harris began his film career at age 41 and went on to appear in films between 1964 and 1994, including Hell Up in Harlem. He passed away in October of 2004 at the age of 81.
Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter
Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008)
The chameleon actor, Jeffrey Wright, has been in the last two Bond films as CIA agent Felix Leiter. Hopefully, he’ll sign on for “Bond 23” as well, joining newcomer, Naomie Harris. In hardcore James Bond circles, Wright is the first and only black actor to play the Leiter character on screen but that’s just a technicality for Bond-geeks who use terms like, “official.”
Bernie Casey as Felix Leiter
Never Say Never Again (1983)
The first black actor to play James Bond’s best friend and CIA agent Felix Leiter was Bernie Casey. The character appears in 11 Bond movies in total, but is portrayed by a black actor just three of those times. Casey’s portrayal, opposite the last Sean Connery 007, was in Never Say Never, an “unofficial” James Bond film. The term unofficial is used for Bond films not produced by Eon Productions. Remember that the next time you play Trivial Pursuit.
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