Famke Janssen just revealed a wild behind-the-scenes story from GoldenEye involving Pierce Brosnan and a painful on-set injury. The actress disclosed how a fight scene went wrong and her complicated feelings about joining the James Bond franchise.
Pierce Brosnan accidentally broke Famke Janssen’s ribs during GoldenEye
Famke Janssen broke her ribs during a fight scene with Pierce Brosnan while filming 1995’s GoldenEye. The actress revealed the injury during a masterclass discussion at Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter). Janssen featured as villain Xenia Onatopp opposite Brosnan’s James Bond in the spy blockbuster. She later portrayed Jean Grey in the X-Men series.
The injury occurred during the film’s bathhouse scene between Xenia and Bond. Janssen urged Brosnan to physically throw her against a padded wall for authenticity. “I told him, ‘Pierce, it’s so hard to act out this pain so just throw me against the wall,’” she shared. Brosnan resisted at first, saying he did not want to hurt her. Janssen reassured him that the padding would keep her safe. “Famous last words,” she added.
The throw left Janssen unable to breathe or speak, and the crew temporarily stopped filming. However, she only learned about the broken rib after returning to New York months later. “We just continued filming. They didn’t know,” the 61-year-old actress explained.
Beyond the physical toll, Janssen discussed the mental pressure of joining the Bond franchise. She grew up watching the films with her father, but felt uneasy about the portrayal of women. “I put so much pressure on myself in this role because I thought, I don’t want to be one of those women,” she stated. The Dutch actress wanted the role to serve as a launching pad for a lasting career.
GoldenEye marked Brosnan’s debut as 007 following a six-year gap in the franchise. Janssen also recalled the intense Bond publicity machine kicking in from week one of filming. “There is a publicity machine behind a Bond movie that is like no other franchise, not even like the X-Men,” she noted. She faced repeated stigma as a model-turned-actress stepping into the Bond spotlight.
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