Elizabeth Hurley wants to play a Bond villain: “I loved the Daniel Craig Bond films, but all the villains were men”

Elizabeth Hurley’s “dream” is to be a James Bond villain, the actor and model has shared in a new interview.

Hurley was answering questions posed to her by readers of The Guardian, and was asked if she’d rather be a James Bond girl or an Austin Powers girl – having played Vanessa Kensington, Powers’ girlfriend and later wife in the first two Austin Powers movies. She later had to turn down a role in the third due to her pregnancy with her son Damian.

She answered: “Well, I like a catsuit – which, in this day and age, would mean a Powers girl. But my dream is to be a Bond villain – with or without a catsuit. I loved the Daniel Craig Bond films, but all the villains were men.”

Hurley also revealed that Kensington is still a popular Halloween costume choice, over two decades after the Austin Powers movies she starred in. “If I could shoehorn myself into my costumes, all of which are residing in my dusty attic, I could go as her myself next year,” she said. “It would be tricky to find a real-life Vanessa. She had a childlike innocence and no side. I had to dig deep for that one.”

Myers and Hurley attending the ‘Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery’ Hollywood Premiere on April 28, 1997 at Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. CREDIT: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

When asked if she helped creator Mike Myers, who played Powers, get his English quotes right, she explained that both of his parents were from Liverpool. “He used to tour the UK with Neil Mullarkey, an English comedian, who was also brilliant in Austin Powers as the guard who gives Austin back his Swedish penis pump,” she said.

She paid tribute to Myers’ comedic acting skills, too, saying: “I learned from the best playing opposite Mike Myers, whom I adored. I used to get terrible giggling fits when we were shooting and had to play lots of scenes without actually looking Mike in the eye, for fear of corpsing.

“There’s one scene where Austin attacks Basil Exposition’s mother, bellowing to Michael York: “She’s a man, baby!” while trying to yank her wig off to show she’s a spy. But it isn’t a wig as she’s a perfectly ordinary old lady. I ruined every take by laughing and I’m ashamed to say that in the actual movie, you can see I’m glassy-eyed and smirking.”