Rosamund Pike has revealed a startling moment from her early Hollywood career, recounting that she was asked to strip to her underwear during her audition for the 2002 James Bond film, "Die Another Day." However, she was strong enough not to give in.

The British actress, who played icy double agent Miranda Frost opposite Pierce Brosnan, shared the experience in a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar UK. While she had no objections to the sensual scenes required by the role, Pike drew the line at disrobing during the audition process.

"In the Bond audition, I was asked to unzip and drop the dress I was wearing, to just stand there in underwear," Pike said. "And I thought, 'Well, no, I'll be doing that if I get the part. I won't be doing that now.'"

She recalled standing her ground and later questioning what gave her the courage to do so. "I don't know what possessed me," she admitted.

Just a year later, the then-rising star was cast in the play Hitchcock Blonde, which required full nudity onstage. Despite the bold requirement, Pike said she was well-informed by the director and accepted the role knowing what it entailed.

"There was a moment of, 'F***, they've given me this absolute stellar part, but it involves nudity,'" she said, adding that she requested to wear a dressing gown for one of the more graphic scenes. "I've usually spent my career being more clothed than was initially on the page."

Pike, now 46, once also shared a humorous behind-the-scenes story from filming a love scene in Die Another Day, revealing she was worried her nipple tape might inadvertently wax co-star Pierce Brosnan.

"We have this clinch, and then we separate, and I look at this body tape and the nipple covers and they're covered in hair. And I think, 'Oh my God, I'm waxing Pierce's chest,'" she joked during an appearance on David Tennant Does a Podcast With...

Despite the challenges, Pike's performance in "Die Another Day" helped launch a celebrated career that continues to evolve more than two decades later.

She also reflected on her turn in the 20th entry in the James Bond franchise to Entertainment Weekly in 2020, sharing candidly but guiltily that she has never before even seen a 007 movie, and gushing about her costars.

"Pierce was wonderful to me, [and] it was pretty phenomenal to meet Halle Berry," she said. "Her stature in the business seemed like she was on another planet, really, from me. It was when she was in her Oscar whirl and she'd just done that amazing performance in Monster's Ball, and she seemed so glamorous."

Tags
Pierce Brosnan