With a franchise that has been slick for so many years, I wanted to throw a human spin on it-to be someone who's figuring it out."

Lashana Lynch, 32, says of her star spy turn in the new James Bond film

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Opening Act

Lashana Lynch enters the James Bond legacy at a pivotal moment in its history: No Time to Die, the installment out in April, will be the first film in the almost 6o-y ear-old, $7 billion franchise to land in apost-#MeToo world. The British actress, who broke out as Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel, has shaken and stirred Hollywood's modern classic, arriving as Nomi, the new oo agent and rumored heir apparent as Daniel Craig takes his last Aston Martin ride. Here, some insights gleaned from a conversation with a woman undercover.

SHE WAS BORN in London to Jamaican parents, and an early passion for R&B enticed her to drama school. "You can't sing without acting and you can't act without singing—it's all sounds, accents, and emotion."

SHE FAVORED Brandy, Mariah Carey, SWV, and Boyz II Men: "I had a lot of fun singing with a hairbrush to those." SHE STUDIED at the prestigious ArtsEd school and cut her teeth on London stages before American TV titan Shonda Rhimes cast her in the short-lived ABC series Still Star-Crossed in 2017.

"it was color-blind casting at its finest. It doesn't have to be exact, it just needs to be honest."

HER 007 TRAINING started early. "When I was only months old, my dad would sit me down under his arm on the couch and make me watch Bond."

FAN MAIL

"Her empathy and humanity as an actor bring magic to every scene." —BRIE LARSON

"Lashana moves like a cat." —DANIEL CRAIG

"We enjoyed jumping around Brooklyn Lashana's very much a Brooklynite, even though she's from Britain." —MELINA MAT SOUK AS

SHE'S HARD-PRESSED to pick a favorite. "Daniel [Craig] brings the grittiness of London, which I absolutely love, but after Daniel it's impossible to answer because they all bring something really spicy.... I did like Sean [Connery]."

HER GADGET of choice would be "a time-traveling watch that could make me a fly on the wall anywhere."

SHE HOPES HER character, Nomi, brings a new layer of relatability to the world of espionage. "When you're dealing with a franchise that has been slick for so many years, I wanted to throw a human spin on it—to deal with anxiety and be someone who's figuring it out, completely on her toes."

SHE CREDITS Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was recruited to polish the film's script, with bringing an evolved female perspective to the Bond girls of the past. "She injected a natural richness into Nomi. Phoebe was able to cater to the women and bring something punchy, unique, and fresh."

THE BUZZ surrounding a modernized franchise has led some online trolls to be upset that the next 007 might be played by a black woman. "The good can be bad, and also sad," Lynch says, "it's healthy to talk about it because it reminds you, unfortunately, about where the world is right now. But also, of the work that we have to do as people who have a platform to speak."

UP NEXT she stars in Y, an FX series directed by Melina Matsoukas, based on the comic book series set in a postapocalyptic world ruled by women. "I would say many people in the world right now have dreams of a female-run world. And we actually get to fulfill that dream."

BRITT HENNEMUTH