Madonna: Licensed to Act in Bond Flick

Aside from singing title track, Madonna will briefly appear in this fall's Die Another Day

By Josh Grossberg Jul 10, 2002 5:30 PMTags
When it comes to being a Bond babe, nobody does it like a virgin.

Just ask Madonna.

The Material One has agreed to do a brief cameo in Die Another Day, the 20th James Bond adventure now filming in London, her publicist, Liz Rosenberg, confirmed Wednesday.

Madonna will essay the role of a fencing instructor during an action-packed scene in which current 007 Pierce Brosnan battles the latest baddie, Gustav Graves, played by Toby Stephens, in a deadly duel at a London gentlemen's club, according to London's Evening Standard.

The 43-year-old singer-actress-icon, who is currently starring in the West End play Up for Grabs, reportedly filmed her shining moment as a Bond girl earlier this week at London's Pinewood Studios, where the movie is close to finishing production.

Madonna is something of a double agent: Not only will she make a brief appearance in the film, but she will also contribute a tune to that eternally sexy title sequence.

She joins an impressive list of Bond serenaders that also includes Paul McCartney (whose Wings performed the theme to Live and Let Die), Tina Turner (GoldenEye), Sheryl Crow (Tomorrow Never Dies), Shirley Bassey (Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker), Tom Jones (Thunderball), Carly Simon ("Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy Who Loved Me) and Duran Duran (A View to a Kill).

Next month, Madonna is due to fly to Los Angeles to shoot a video for the Die Another Day title track.

Aside from Brosnan, the cast includes Oscar-winners Halle Berry and Judi Dench, as well as John Cleese (taking over as gadgetmeister from the late Q, Desmond Llewelyn).

Per tradition, the plot of Die Another Day is being kept under wraps. About all we know is that a rogue North Korean general (Rick Yune of The Fast and the Furious) builds a device that let's his face morph into others (including Stephens) until it malfunctions and leaves him looking something like the Phantom of the Opera.

The film is slated to open on November 22 and will mark the 40th anniversary of the Bond franchise.