20 Things You Didn’t Know About Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
6. “Tell Me, James: Do You Still Sleep With A Gun Under Your Pillow?”
It was initially suggested that Elliot Carver’s wife should be Sylvia Trench: James Bond’s lover in Dr. No (1962) and From Russia With Love.
Pierce Brosnan supported casting director, Debbie McWilliams’s suggestion that Italian actress, Monica Bellucci portray Paris Carver, but Bellucci was largely unknown at the time and, according to Brosnan, “the fools said no”. Nevertheless, she was later cast as another neglected wife, Lucia Sciarra in SPECTRE (2015).
Then-39-year-old actress, Sela Ward also auditioned, but was told that the producers wanted a 29-year-old version of her for the part!
MGM selected 32-year-old actress, Teri Hatcher - well-known from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997) - to play Paris Carver. She accepted the role because her then-husband, Jon Tenney wanted to be married to a Bond Girl.
Hatcher was three months pregnant when she joined the production. Unaware of this, Pierce Brosnan complained that she frequently arrived late on-set; when he learned that she was experiencing morning sickness, he dutifully apologised. Their love scene was significantly shortened due to her pregnancy.
Teri Hatcher later regretted playing Paris Carver as “It’s such an artificial kind of character...that you don’t get any special satisfaction from it”.