Charlotte McBurney has opened up about playing James Bond’s newest female lead in the Young Bond adventure SilverFin, saying she will “challenge” expectations.
The audio drama, which is available now from Big Finish, is based on the first novel in Charlie Higson’s Young Bond book series and stars Isaac Rouse as a younger iteration of 007 during his schooldays at Eton, while Burney plays Bond's equestrian ally Wilder Lawless.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Times about the character, McBurney revealed that she’s “not a typical Bond girl”.
She explained: “I think she definitely challenges what people will expect. As a Bond fan, I find it so satisfying that there's, like, things in the way she speaks or even the fact that her horse is called Martini.
“She's very feisty, and she's very willing to tell James Bond exactly what she thinks in a way that is held alongside the fact that she's 16.
“So it's not sort of, ‘I'm an incredibly cool woman, smoking in a corner, and I'm gonna tell you what I think.’ It's much more kind of energetic, and I feel like she's got a million things going on in her head at the same time.”
McBurney added: “She's very smart. She's very good at problem-solving. She's very proactive. But she also wants to be part of things. She's not been wrapped up in a situation that she can't get out of – she's absolutely inserted herself into this situation. She seeks out James, and she's like, ‘Let me be a part of this.’
“ She is really cool and very badass, which is what we kind of hope from these adventure stories as well, but there's also this youthfulness which I just find so charming from both Wilder and James. You catch this quality of them being young. And yeah... it's so charming, and also makes you more afraid for them.”
Rouse added: “Totally. There's a real desire for adventure that they mutually share.”
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Alongside Rouse and McBurney, the audio adaptation also stars author Higson himself as Michael Merriot, the Eton classics tutor who mentors the teenage Bond.
Supervising producer Lizzie Worsdell said of his casting when the series was announced earlier this year: "When reading the script, it became impossible not to hear Charlie’s voice when reading Merriot’s dialogue. He brings exactly the warmth, intelligence and kindness the character needs, so he always felt like the perfect fit."
Young Bond: SilverFin is available now from Big Finish.
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