Lea Seydoux praises 'feminist' Daniel Craig for changing James Bond franchise

Lea Seydoux has hailed Daniel Craig as a “feminist” who helped grow the James Bond franchise.

The 36-year-old actress – who reprises her role as Madeleine Swann in ‘No Time To Die’ after first taking on the role in 2015’s ‘Spectre’ – heaped praise on the 007 actor for the way he changed both his own spy alter ego and the characters around him.

Speaking at the ‘No Time To Die’ premiere in London on Tuesday (28.09.21), she told reporters: “I think that Daniel really changed his character, he made him more human in a way, more complex.

“I think that Daniel is also someone who’s a feminist and it’s really something that he brought to the franchise. He wanted to have more complex characters.”

She explained that the female roles in the movie aren’t there to “please [Bond’s] sexuality”, and instead have a deeper impact on the story being told on screen.

She added: “We’re not here only to please his sexuality and not seen only through a male perspective, but real women that are strong but also vulnerable.

“That was something, I think, that was needed in a way.”

Her comments come after Lashana Lynch, 33, suggested her character Nomi – a Double 0 agent – is a sign of the franchise shifting in its portrayal of female roles.

She said: “The fact that [Nomi] was even an idea in the first place is just a reflection of where we are in the world, where we are continuing to go, but also where the franchise is.

“And it would be a shame not to do that – so they’re doing exactly the right thing, and I think they’ll continue to do that in the future.”