Before we got to see Rosamund Pike’s double-crossing femme fatale kick major ass in James Bond’s Die Another Day — the film was released in 2002, statute of limitations for spoiler talk is over — Pike had a crisis of conscience when it came to her audition. See, Bond producers demanded Pike to strip down to her skivvies for her audition, as her character, Miranda Frost, wears a few revealing outfits in the film. But after a bit of reflection, Pike said no — even if that meant jeopardizing what became her breakout role. “I remember them saying I was to drop my dress and appear in my underwear,†she said in an Audible Session interview. “On the day, I don’t know how I got the resolve and strength of mind, but I just thought, ‘Actually sod that, if they’re gonna see me in my underwear, they better give me the job.’ So, I thought, ‘There’s no way I’m going to take off a dress in the audition for this tape to be sent around Los Angeles and to be judged on that.’ â€
Pike also said the film’s costume designer encouraged her to change out of her grandmother’s “beautiful†silk dress — the audition required women to wear a formal gown — in favor of a dress that had “three pieces of string.†Pike obliged, but still didn’t take it the dress off despite being asked to: “I realized I was in a completely different world and way out of my depth. So, I put on this shimmering sheath, or whatever the order of the day was, but I didn’t drop it.†Pike was quick to note, though, that her filming experience with Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day was an incredibly positive one.