Denise Richards has played a lot of trophy wives, both fictional and semi imaginaryBut her latest role as the ex-husband of a high-rolling crypto fraudster in the upcoming series “Paper Empire” gives Richards the opportunity to do “something very fun and challenging and very different,” she says.
The show, which premiered last week on MipTV in Cannes, tells the story of financier Laurence Finch (played by Robert Davi) who finds himself in prison after committing a million-dollar cryptocurrency fraud. Finch has no plans to stay in prison, no matter what the FBI thinks, and soon hatches a daring plan to break out. The series, created by Robert Gillings, also stars Wesley Snipes, Kelsey Grammer and Danny Glover.
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Richards says Gillings sold her the role of Bentley, Finch’s glamorous ex-wife, based on her pitch. “This is the first project I’ve ever done, I believe in my entire career, that I’ve never seen a (complete) script,” she explained. Diversity in the ear “I was given scenes with my character, that’s all. Which has happened to me for the first time.
Richards said, “I thought it might be interesting and challenging to do a project where I don’t know what’s happening.” “Because sometimes in life, we really don’t know what’s going to happen. And so I took every scene that was ever given to me and did everything based on that.
While Bentley may come across as arm candy, Richards says she “didn’t want to play the cliche trophy wife. I wanted to try to bring some depth to my character as best I could.
It helped that there were elements of Bentley’s life that she could relate to. “Especially, you know, the character of Robert Dewey being taken away (by the FBI) ​​and going away and what it would mean for his whole family to fall apart. As clearly as I can relate to the divorce I’ve been through this. So I really wanted to find ways where I could bring some empathy and also show that she really loved him.
“And it wasn’t just about his lifestyle and money,” says Richards. “Although she loves that lifestyle and would love to keep it. It’s easier to go from poor to rich than to go from rich to poor. You know, I’ve been through it all, I really have. So many levels. So It was something that I thought would be really interesting.
Richards has undoubtedly been through the Hollywood ringer, at least in the early 2000s when she was a regular on blogs like TMZ and Perez Hilton. Unlike Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, Richards hasn’t yet had her post-#MeToo dues, which has seen her contemporaries’ stories re-examined through a new (less anti-feminist) lens. Does Richards feel ready to reclaim his narrative? “I’ve been very quiet about a lot of things,” she says. “I obviously went through a lot at the beginning of my career when I did ‘Wild Things’ in particular. And one day I will talk about that experience. And some stuff right after that and a little bit before, but it’s, uh… you know, I’m glad we’re in a time where women are being empowered and being able to have more of a voice.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the James Bond universe (of which Richards was once a part), where the latest film, “No Time to Die,” has also seen a woman – Lashana Lynch – briefly taking up the 007 mantle. Richards, who starred opposite Pierce Brosnan in the 1999 Bond film “The World Is Not Enough,” plays scientist Dr. Christmas recalls receiving a “pan” for his performance as Jones, a role in which he played in shorts and a midriff-baring vest. “It broke my heart that people were making fun of me,” she says, recalling some of the barbs: “‘Oh, really? You’re wearing shorts and you’re a nuclear scientist?'”
“I’m playing a Bond girl,” she says in response to the criticism. “If I was wearing a lab coat and pants and a suit,[fans]would be upset, like, ‘Well, why isn’t she looking like a sexy Bond girl?’
So with Daniel Craig finally retiring from the role, does Richards think it’s time for a female Bond? “Definitely a male bond, I’m sorry,” she says defiantly. “And I can get a lot of flak for that. But the fact is the Bond franchise was based on a book franchise and Bond was male in the books and I believe (they should) continue. I do, and people blame me for it.” But I’m sure. They could do a spin-off where a Bond girl becomes a female Bond. But I guess James Bond is James Bond.”
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