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Gemma asked to speak ‘posh’
Gemma Arterton had almost quit her role as a Bond girl in Quantum Of Solace when a movie executive disparaged her “common” accent.
Actress Gemma Arterton had almost quit her role as a Bond girl in
Quantum Of Solace
when a movie executive disparaged her “common” accent.
The star was cast as agent Strawberry Fields in Daniel Craig’s second 007 outing in 2008. However, she almost walked out when one American film chief warned her that if she carried on talking in her native British accent, she would only ever be cast as a maid. “I said, ‘Hello! I’m playing a Bond girl who works for the British consulate!’ I was so annoyed I nearly walked out... I went through this whole thing of, ‘I’m common compared to all these Oxford graduates. I don’t know anything’,” the
Daily Star
quoted her as telling
GQ
magazine.
The actress’ accent almost cost her a role in upcoming blockbuster
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
, after director Mike Newell ordered her to lose her twang and speak “posh”. And now, the 24-year-old beauty is working with a voice coach after moviemaker Stephen Frears advised her to seek professional help during a recent audition.
