Queen Elizabeth’s iconic James Bond, Paddington cameos
The world was stunned when Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday at the age of 96 after seven decades of service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms.
Among the title of monarch, she also could be given the moniker of “Best Cameo Star” — thanks to two very unforgettable skits in the past decade.
The Queen surprised royal fans when she appeared in a 2012 Olympics opening ceremony sketch with Daniel Craig as James Bond and a skit with Paddington Bear earlier this year.
Frank Cottrell Boyce, who co-wrote both acts, recalled how much the sovereign liked to be in front of the camera.
“Slumdog Millionaire” filmmaker Danny Boyle directed the 2012 mini-play and Cottrell-Boyce explained that the Queen desperately wanted a speaking role.
“On the day we were filming, she said to Danny Boyle, ‘I think I should have a line’,” he told the BBC on Friday, via the Hollywood Reporter. “She bagged that. She didn’t have a line in the script.”
“Good evening, Mister Bond,” she memorably said to Craig’s 007 as they strolled through Buckingham Palace.
Craig honored her majesty on Thursday in a statement. “I, like so many, was deeply saddened by the news today and my thoughts are with the royal family, those she loved and all those who loved her,” Craig said. “She leaves an incomparable legacy and will be profoundly missed.”
As for the Paddington Bear clip, the queen enjoyed tea and marmalade sandwiches with Britain’s favorite blue raincoat-clad teddy.
“She had a lot more lines in the Paddington sketch, partly because it was a lot cheaper to film her than to film Paddington,” Cottrell-Boyce noted.
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“But she did that brilliantly and with evident enjoyment. And it wasn’t easy. Paddington’s not really there, so it’s technically an amazing performance and a brilliantly timed comic performance,” he added.
The bear video was filmed for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this past June — an event conducted to mark her seventy years on the throne.
On Thursday, Paddington gave a sweet tribute to the Queen, offering kind words. “Thank you Ma’am, for everything.”
Of the cute two-minute-long sketch, Cottrell-Boyce also stated how happy she looked during shooting. “She’s absolutely glowing in that moment,” he said.
He went on: “And you’ve got to remember that that’s real acting that’s going on there. Paddington isn’t really in the room. She’s acting with an eye-line and with someone pretending to be Paddington. That’s proper acting going on. But I also think it’s true happiness.”
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