actresses have had a long-running love affair with British agent 007? The Local finds out more. "/> actresses have had a long-running love affair with British agent 007? The Local finds out more. " />
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JAMES BOND

For your eyes only: Swedish Bond girls

James Bond's "Skyfall" premieres on Friday, featuring a sexy Swedish actor in a prominent role. But did you know that Swedish actresses have had a long-running love affair with British agent 007? The Local finds out more.

For your eyes only: Swedish Bond girls

Ever since Swiss beauty Ursula Andress emerged from the water in her famous white bikini in “Dr. No”, 1962, the eye-catching Bond girls have become almost as iconic as the popular spy film franchise itself.

While inevitably sexy, Bond girls actually portray a range of characters when sharing the screen with the famed British agent.

Some play the pliant and devoted ally, ready to assist 007 as he battles with the villain du jour.

Other Bond girls act as evil seductive temptresses bent on Bond’s demise.

And every so often, it seems the Bond girls are simply there for looks and laughs (who could forget “Holly Goodhead” and “Pussy Galore”).

But regardless of the film, Bond girls have certainly left their mark with a legacy all their own.

Take for example, “Octopussy”, in which Swede Maud Adams played the title role, in an uplifting performance which transformed Adams into a fan favourite.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LOCAL’S GALLERY OF SWEDISH BOND GIRLS

Since the first Bond film was released 50 years ago, the women who have played Bond girls have been from all over the world, from Japan to Jamaica, France to the Philippines.

But did you know that Bond has a penchant for Swedes, with six Swedish actresses playing a Bond girl at some point in their careers.

While the Bond girls in “Skyfall”, the 23rd Bond film to date, are British and French, the movie nevertheless features Swedish talent of another kind.

For starters, Swedish actor Ola Rapace plays Patrice, who engages in some high-drama hand-to-hand combat with Bond, currently played by Brit Daniel Craig.

And another Swedish actor, Jens Hultén, also played a villain in “Skyfall” who exchanged blows with 007.

But which Bond film had two Swedish actresses?

And which Swede is the only actress to have played a Bond girl twice?

And does a woman with a half-Swedish father still count as a Swedish Bond girl?

All the answers to these questions and more in our gallery of Bond Girls from Sweden.

Oliver Gee

Follow Oliver on Twitter here

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CINEMA

WATCH: New Bond film begins filming in southern Italy… with a car chase

James Bond is back in Italy, this time shooting – what else – a breakneck car chase through the southern city of Matera.

WATCH: New Bond film begins filming in southern Italy... with a car chase
Matera: not a bad backdrop for a car chase. Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

Filming on No Time To Die, 007's 25th movie outing and the fifth and final time he'll be played by Daniel Craig, arrived in this year's European Capital of Culture on Sunday.

Originally slated to begin in April, the shoot got off to an appropriate start: with an Aston Martin speeding through Matera's scenic streets.

Watched by a curious crowd, the crew closed down part of the city centre as stunt doubles – including what looked to be a long-haired blonde in the passenger seat – shot off on a car chase, the spy's distinctive silver DB5 in pursuit of another vehicle.

Craig himself is expected to arrive in Matera in the next few days, for a shoot that will last nearly four weeks and bring an estimated €12 million of investment to the city.

Some 400 jobs are expected to be created by the production, not to mention the knock-on boost for tourism that's likely to follow once the film comes out in April 2020.

READ ALSO: Matera, Italy's city of caves, contrasts, and culture

As well as the scenes by Matera's grand cathedral and ancient, Unesco-listed cave houses, some sequences will be shot in the neighbouring region of Puglia.

The crew picked Gravina di Puglia in the province of Bari, a town famous for its dramatic two-level Roman bridge spanning a ravine, as the film's second southern Italian location.

Gravina di Puglia. Photo: Depositphotos

Bond is well-travelled in Italy, having had memorable escapades over the years in Venice, Rome, Siena, by Lakes Como and Garda, in the mountains of Cortina D'Ampezzo and on the Sardinian coast, but this is the first time the secret agent has headed to the far south of the mainland.

No Time To Die will also feature locations in Norway, Jamaica and the UK, with a supporting cast that includes Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, Ben Whishaw as Q, Ralph Fiennes as M, Léa Sedoux as Madeleine Swann, and Rami Malek as the as yet unnamed villain.

READ ALSO: James Bond's best Italian moments

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