Pam Grier could have been a Bond Girl. The eponymous star of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Jackie Brown‘ was offered the part of Bond Girl, which she refused. The producers had expressed an interest in casting Grier in ‘Octopussy,’ but she turned it down. She took the meeting at her agent’s insistence but was never intrigued with the idea of being in a James Bond movie.

Most actresses would kill to have the part, but it was something that Pam Grier never was interested in. She attributed the role as an “afterthought.” After sitting on it for a while, Pam Grier realized the part wouldn’t help advance her career. She would turn down many such roles years before starring in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Jackie Brown.’

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Pam Grier Rejected The Idea Of Playing A Bond Girl

Pam Grier’s roles in blaxploitation classics Coffy,’ ‘Foxy Brown,’ and ‘Friday Foster’ had made her a bona fide action star. In the 1980s, the Broccoli family met with Pam Grier about being in a James Bond movie. Uninterested, she passed on the project. Maud Adams would go on to play the cunning jewel smuggler in ‘Octopussy.’

Pam Grier weighed the pros and cons of her decision. She concluded that playing a Bond Girl would be an “afterthought .” She didn’t believe there was any value addition in part, and told EW that, “I just felt to be a Bond girl would be: What am I going to do? Am I going to help rescue him? Is he rescuing me?”

“A Bond girl is an afterthought, a CliffsNote, perhaps. I asked, ‘Am I challenging Bond? Am I out to kill him? Will I kill him before he kills me?’ They hadn’t thought of that. I gave them other ideas, which were much more profound and interesting than what they were doing,” added the ‘Jackie Brown’ star.

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‘Jackie Brown’ Gave Pam Grier A Career Resurgence

The search for in-depth character pieces led to Pam Grier turning down many projects like ‘Octopussy.’ The 73-year-old actress considered quitting showbiz for good after ‘Foxy Brown.’ But things would soon change for the iconic actress after meeting her biggest fan, Quentin Tarantino. 

Quentin Tarantino was delighted to meet Pam Grier. He told the actress he was “writing a screenplay” for her. Grier, who had been in the industry for a while, dismissed it. But when Tarantino insisted, she expressed an interest in reading it once it was done. It would soon become one of Pam Grier’s most iconic roles.

Quentin Tarantino wrote a script called ‘Jackie Brown.’ It was based on the famous Elmore Leonard novel ‘Rum Punch.’ Pam Grier played the titular character, a whip-smart flight attendant caught between her smuggler bosses and police authority. This part again brought her to public attention and re-established her iconic career. 

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