No Time to Die: Ana de Armas says her Bond character was entirely written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge

‘Knives Out’ star says ‘Fleabag’ creator set out to ensure her Bond Girl was ‘a real woman’

Ana de Armas has said her mystery character in the next James Bond movie was a last-minute addition to the film who was entirely written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

The Knives Out actor plays Paloma in No Time to Die, and is glimpsed in the film’s trailers firing guns and successfully fighting off an assailant.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, de Armas said Paloma was created by director Cary Joji Fukunaga, but entirely written by the film’s co-screenwriter Waller-Bridge. She added that the Fleabag creator’s fingerprints were all over the character on the page.

“You could … tell that Phoebe was in there,” the actor said. “There was that humour and spikiness so specific to her. My character feels like a real woman.

“But you know, we can evolve and grow and incorporate reality, but Bond is a fantasy. In the end you can’t take things out of where they live.”

De Armas revealed that Paloma is a newcomer to the CIA, and surprises Bond with her strength.

“The expectation is that she’s not going to be the most proficient agent, but let’s just say that she really packs a punch,” she explained.

The Cuban actor was nominated for a Golden Globe for her work in Knives Out, and is set for a packed 2020. Along with No Time to Die, she plays Marilyn Monroe in the Netflix drama Blonde and stars alongside Ben Affleck in the erotic thriller Deep Water.