Why Goldeneye Actress Quit The Business

Serena Gordon, the actress known for her role in the 1995 James Bond movie ‘Goldeneye,’ has revealed how disgust with showbiz cosmetic standards drove her to quit the industry.

Notable for being the first sexual conquest of Pierce Brosnan’s 007, Gordon was already a seasoned TV actress when she took the single scene role of MI6 psychoanalyst Caroline, sent by M to report on Bond’s mental well-being.
Naturally being analysed isn’t Bond’s thing, and she instead finds herself hurtled around in the classic Aston Martin whilst Bond races Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), who whizzes by in a Ferrari.

This prompts an exchange that results in one of Brosnan’s first and best innuendos: Gordon quivers, “I enjoy a spirited ride as much as the next girl.”

As Janssen speeds by, Gordon asks, “Who’s that?” To which Brosnan smiles, “The next girl.”

Though it’s a funny and memorable cameo, it’s fair to say the role didn’t exactly launch Gordon into the stratosphere. Still, she worked steadily for another fourteen years, again mostly in television, before turning her back on acting in 2009.

From what Gordon (now aged 50) tells the Telegraph, it seems she had grown exhausted with the shallow, appearance-obsessed nature of the business: “Acting is an intense, quite cruel, bitchy world. You have to either be thick-skinned or very well grounded so you don’t take it too seriously.”

Gordon is notable for being one of the more down-to-earth, less excessively glamorous Bond girls; a fairly deliberate move, we suspect, in ushering in the new, potentially tricky post-PC era that the Brosnan films represented.

Even so, it seems the pressure to meet a standard of glamour left Gordon thoroughly disillusioned: “I thought, ‘Why do I put myself through the bizarre experience of standing in front of a camera surrounded by a lot of people, and feeling exposed?’

"Unless you’re prepared to do the full Botox thing nowadays, it’s a very harsh world. The higher definition of TV, the less I want to be on it. I wouldn’t have Botox as I’d be frightened of it going wrong, and of getting addicted to it."

Gordon also notes, “Anyway, casting directors are having problems now - for example, actors attending castings for 60-plus roles turn up looking 45.
"I did an episode of Holby City, playing a woman who rushes to see her younger boyfriend after he’s in an accident. People kept saying, ‘Are you playing his grandmother?’ Even some of the young boys on Holby had had Botox."

She adds, “I feel really sorry for young actresses today because there’s a huge focus on being slim.”

Interestingly given the profession of her ‘Goldeneye’ role, Gordon now works in the field of therapy.

With this coming so soon after Brosnan himself stunned Bond fans by sadly confessing he feels his 007 was “never good enough,” recent months have been a fairly emotional time for fans of ‘Goldeneye!’ Will it help if I reiterate my belief that it’s easily one of the best Bond films ever…?

How do you feel about Serena Gordon’s comments on the image-obsession of the acting industry? Let us know in the comments section below.

Ben Bussey is a freelance writer, comic book movie/sci-fi fantasy/horror enthusiast, and lifelong Bond fan.