Rachel Grant reveals information on her role!

This is London has published a very interestin article on Rachel Grant, who will play a minor role in Die Another Day; remember – CBn was the first to report some months ago!

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Royal approval for new Bond girl

Steady on, 007, this is taking On Her Majesty's Secret Service a little too far. MI6's seductive superspy is set to unleash his famous charms on a relative of the Queen.

Rachel Louise Grant de Longeuil, a 25-year-old cousin of Princes William and Harry, has landed a part as a deadly secret agent who is – typically – undone by James Bond in the new 007 film, Die Another Day.

"My role is relatively small but this is more than I could have ever hoped for," she said.

Known as plain Rachel Grant, her full name betrays her blue-blooded background. Her great-grandmother, Ernestine Maude Bowes-Lyon, was first cousin of the Queen Mother.

Grant spent three years as an usherette at the Coronet cinema in Notting Hill, dreaming that one day she would leave the foyer and become a movie star. Since then she has become a presenter on the Science Fiction Channel, starred in a shampoo advert and danced on Top Of The Pops. Now her career has taken a leap forward.

Grant, whose first foray into feature films was as a body double for Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider, was auditioned for a background part in Die Another Day. She ended up bagging a far meatier role.

"After auditioning I was at Pinewood shooting the scene," she said. "It was terrifying, especially when Lee Tamahori, the director, and the writers came to look me up and down."

Working as an usherette, Grant once met Honor Blackman – aka Bond legend Pussy Galore. Now she too knows what it is like to be a Bond girl – especially the secrecy involved.

Spoiler Warning (Highlight To Read)

She is not even allowed to reveal the name of her character, although she did say that Bond first meets her at a party.

“He sees me and does that classic Bond eyebrow thing. During the scene he walked up behind me and kissed my neck, which I wasn’t really expecting, but that’s Bond for you.”

To put her at ease, star Pierce Brosnan asked if she was a Bond fan. "I told him I used to work at the Coronet and I'd stood at the back to watch the last two Bonds. He thought it was hilarious."

She added: "Pierce is getting $20million for the film and I was paid £1,500 a day for the three days I worked – but I would have done it for free if they'd asked. It's all I've ever wanted to do – my first feature film. And not just any film but the 20th James Bond."

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