5 Things To Know About 'No Time To Die' Star Lashana Lynch, The First Black And Female 007

The 25th James Bond movie “No Time To Die” will be the last movie in the franchise to star Daniel Craig. The movie is also setting a few firsts thanks to star Lashana Lynch. 

"No Time To Die" is released by MGM, the movie studio being acquired by Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN. 

Here are 5 things you might not know about Lashana Lynch.

1. First Black, Woman 007: One of the main plot points of “No Time To Die” will see James Bond go into exile.

Lynch plays Nomi in the movie, the character that replaces Bond as Agent 007. Lynch will be the first Black and first woman 007 in the franchise, two historic firsts happening at the same time.

Lynch said recently that the role in “No Time To Die” is a step in the right direction for race and gender stereotypes in movies.

“In every project I am part of, no matter the budget or genre, the Black experience that I’m presenting needs to be 100% authentic,” Lynch said in an interview with Harper Bazaar.

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2. Won’t Be Next James Bond: James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has been asked several times over the years who the next James Bond will be. Based on Broccoli’s current answers, Lynch will not be the next Bond.

“James Bond is a male character. I don’t think we have to take a male character and have a woman portray him,” Broccoli said.

In “No Time To Die,” it’s important to remember that Lynch becomes 007 and doesn’t take on the James Bond persona or name.

Daniel Craig starred in five James Bond movies over the last 16 years and will give way to a new Bond after “No Time To Die.”

Fans are already pushing for a spinoff of Lynch’s character if she can’t be the next Bond.

3. Drama School: Lynch graduated from ArtsEd, a drama school in London, England. Julie Andrews is one of the most notable alumni of the school.

In her second year, Lynch was awarded the Laurence Olivier Bursary. The award is given to drama students across the U.K. Ewan McGregor and Michael Sheen are among the past award winners.

4. Track and Field In School and Movies: The first feature film for Lynch was starring in a track and field movie called “Fast Girls.” The 2012 movie focuses on a track rivalry.

Lynch said in a Wired interview that she competed in track and field in school including running the 100 meters.

Despite the history with track, the stars of “Fast Girls" took part in an intense training regimen for the movie.

“I did athletics at school and I’ve always kept pretty fit, so I wasn’t remotely daunted at the prospect,” Lynch said of the training for “Fast Girls."

“But I was in for a surprise and it proved to be a real baptism of fire.”

Olympic sprinters Jeanette Kwakye and Shani Anderson helped the stars go through ten weeks of prep and filming. Training included four hours a day, five-times-a-week workouts.

“Our training was pretty much the same as an Olympic athlete’s, only more condensed.”

5. Romeo and Juliet Sequel Star: Lynch received strong reviews for her role as Rosaline Capulet in the series “Still Star-Crossed.” The show lasted only seven episodes and aired on Walt Disney Co.’s DIS ABC channel.

The show was produced by Shonda Rhimes and acted as a sequel to the popular Romeo and Juliet storyline. The show was based on a book by Melinda Taub.

Photo by Nicole Dove, © 2019 DANJAQ, LLC and MGM.