Leading LADY

She may not be the new OOZ but she sure knows how to pack a punch. Whether she’s belting out an emotional ballad with passion and empathy, or pushing physical limits doing her own stunts, Lashana Lynch can do it all

- SAADIQAH SHROEDER

You may know her from her action-packed roles in No Time Die, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness or The Marvels, where she wields enough stamina and muscle power to give even The Hulk a run for his money. More famously, she dominated the screen as Izogie in The Woman King, playing an African elite warrior, a role in which she performed her own stunts and trained in the gym like she never had before. But while the British-Jamaican actor’s athleticism and background in physical roles may dominate her repertoire, she’s shining as a versatile performer.

No time for scraped knees

Her role as Nomi in the final Daniel Craig instalment of the iconic 007 franchise was the first where she pushed personal boundaries as an actor. Based on her action-packed performance, many believed she should become the first female 007 – and first black one at that. But Lashana quickly laid any hopes to rest. In an interview with The Guardian, the 35-year-old star spoke about the purpose of Nomi: to create a perception of James Bond that anyone could be 007… even if it wasn’t her.

“With Bond, it could be a man or woman. They could be white, black, Asian, mixed race. They could be young or old. At the end of the day, even if a two-year-old was playing Bond, everyone would flock to the cinema to see what this two-year-old’s gonna do, no?”