Stacey Turner and Sandra Bullock on set The BridgeMAG image

Could Emmy-nominated reporter turned movie star, Stacey Turner, become the next seductive foil for 007 in the iconic forty-year-old film franchise James Bond?

After landing a role in a film with Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock, an outing opposite Ian Flemming’s debonair Alpha-male of espionage cannot be far out of reach for a talented actress blessed with beauty and intelligence.

On Thursday 6 September 2012, in an exclusive interview with The Bridge Magazine, Stacey admits that acting had always been her true passion in life, and of how her manager, Doug, has made that dream come true:

“He told me they were always looking for real reporters to play the parts and said it might be a good way to get my foot in the door. Sometimes they need a character that can help the audience understand what’s going on and help move the story along. That’s me.”

Doug came up with the idea to pitch Stacey for the part on the basis of her broadcasting skills, although she already has four feature film and several television appearances on her CV, all of which involve her ‘acting out’ her real life profession at the TV reporter’s microphone.

During her career as a reporter, Stacey Turner interviewed presidential candidates, music superstars and other notable interviewees. Even after being nominated for an Emmy Award for her achievements as a broadcaster, she still felt something in her was unfulfilled.

The Emmy Award, often referred to simply as ‘the Emmy’, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards, but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (or ‘Oscars’) – for film – Grammy Awards – for music – and Tony Awards – for stage.

Stacey confesses that she always knew in her heart that she wanted to be an actress. However, the death of her brother marked the turning point: it was a decisive moment for her, and was made all the more pressing when the morning show she had worked for suddenly ended at around the same time.

The feisty Irish girl, also a former racing car driver, took these vicissitudes as signs that it was time for her to change her direction and pursue her true passion. As Stacey recalls:

“It was a little scary at first trying to figure out how to do something completely different, but I treated it like an assignment. How do you find an agent? Where do you get the pictures you need? What type of training does it take? As I started to do research it all started coming together.”

She worked as an extra on big budget films that were shooting in Atlanta, and landed a part in a regular comedy sketch show called FARK tv. But it would take four more years from the time her news job ended before she would start to get more substantial speaking roles:

“It’s always when you’re about to give up, that something happens. Within a few weeks, I auditioned for the TV show Army Wives and the feature film The Blindside and I booked both of them. I was so excited I couldn’t see straight.”

Getting those two jobs was all the push Stacey needed. She packed her bags and moved to LA to pursue her acting career fulltime. It was slow going at first, but eventually she acquired an agent through mutual friends and soon started auditioning for film roles:

“It was funny to go in and read. Casting directors would ask me how I do that and I was like, do what? They would say, sound like a reporter. That’s when it dawned on me how much of a stylized sound reporters and anchors have. A sort of cadence in the way they speak. I actually even got applause once in the room, which almost never happens. I was walking on air for the rest of the day.”

She won the role, and then a string of several more, including one in an upcoming film written and directed by Sophia Coppola, called The Bling Ring – a role she almost couldn’t

take:

“When it comes to this business you almost always have to have a survival job until you make a name for yourself. Mine is working as a product specialist at auto shows which involves a bit of travel.”

Stacey was in New York when she got the call from Sophia wanting her to appear in her film. The shooting date was right in the middle of the New York auto show and was to take place in Los Angeles:

“I had to jump through a lot of hoops and I had a very understanding boss who let me have a day off but when Sophia Coppola is calling you can’t say no.”

With two films in post-production, and a television movie on the way, Stacey is excited about her future.

She is confident hoping to turn these opportunities into even bigger roles in the future and to be the actress she has always dreamed of becoming.

Stacey Turner on set for the upcoming season of Bones.
The Bridge MAG image

But how far can Stacey go?  How high can she aim? Does she have what it takes to be the next Bond girl? Looking at the many boxes that female movie stars need to tick in order to land the highly competitive ‘Bond girl’ role, the criteria is daunting.

1. Bond girls are not clingy or insecure….

Follow the links below to read more:

1)

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/rachel-tcheungna/arts-and-culture-global-news-that-never-fades-the-bridge-magazine-book-from-britains-news-to-world-exclusives/paperback/product-q764zz.html?page=1&pageSize=4

   2)

https://www.lulu.com/en/gb/shop/rachel-tcheungna/global-news-that-never-fades-from-britains-news-to-world-exclusives/paperback/product-ennmdm.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Rachel Tcheungna, Author, Writer of 

The Bridge Books and 

The Bridge Magazine Editor.