5. Judi Dench: M in GoldenEye (1995)
James Bond may not be, strictly speaking, a comic-book hero (although he was serialized in a Daily Express cartoon strip, so box ticked!), but there might have been a feeling back in 1995 that the Bond franchise needed a heavyweight actor to inject some credibility into what had become something of a caricatured spy (despite Tim Dalton's efforts), as Goldeneye relaunched Bond for a new generation. It was an interesting choice to cast a woman as M. Bonds sexual politics have always been a bit suspect. Is that fair? What would Roger Moores Bond have made of it? A woman? . Judi Denchs M is ballsy, but not just a female filling a mans shoes. Shes a character in her own right. She references her children; and one can infer shes used to sexism and her management style being criticised within the British establishments old boys network. With each film, she becomes more interesting and rounded, and almost becomes a mother figure to Bond. By the time we get to Skyfall, the villain Silva an ex-MI6 agent himself refers to her as Mummy. It is interesting that she is the only actor to have made the transition from the Brosnan era to the gritty, rebooted, Daniel Craig films. What could be seen as a continuity error is actually a smart move as Judi Dench provides a reassuring link from one era to the next.