Goldfinger - The Woman in Gold

The Time I Spoke to Maggie Nolan


From the Carry On films to "Dink" in Goldfinger, Maggie Nolan is a British screen legend.

My first question is, what would you most like to be remembered for?
For being a good parent and a joyful and radical individual

We know most politicians were born in the fiery pit of hell as the spawn of Satan, but what's your opinion of the politics of the world today?
Mostly it seems to be that politics is concerned with the extremely rich and powerful keeping it all to themselves - despite the fact that we all played a part in creating this wealth in the first place!

How does it feel to be fancied by millions of blokes (and probably some women)
Frustrating! I'm not in a relationship at present.

How many times have you been painted gold since Goldfinger and what on earth does it feel like?
Never.It felt a little clamy and greasy but not too bad - had to have part of skin exposed to air ie under bikini and it wasn't easy to remove, lots of soap. I still have a tube of the original Liechner gold make up
I wore, but I haven't tried it - yet!
If you were an alien visiting planet earth, what would you do? Would turn around and go back? Or stay and try and help? Or maybe conquer?
It's such a shambles, I'd stay and try to help
What has been your greatest achievement so far?
Managing to bring up two young men I'm really proud of

What has been mankind's greatest achievement?
Probably our ability to know more about ourselves and the world around us

If you had the chance to speak to every human being on earth, what would your message be?
It's a wonderful world, and we need to know we have the capability to share and enjoy it without diminishing anyone else's opportunity to do likewise

If your life depended on it, which Soap Opera would you do a cameo in?
Probably something like 'Frazier'. I like witty American comedy.

If a tree falls in a forest, and nobody is around to see or hear it, does it make a sound?
Yes

Have you ever felt pressured by the fact that what you do in the public eye or when you're acting it may affect society? Have you ever wondered whether you were doing the right thing?
Yes, although there wasn't the celebrity culture around when I was young, so it wasn't such an issue regarding one's private life. I did really enjoy working in productions that said something important
about society - I remember working at places like The Ambience and feeling I was 'where it's at', and touring the provinces with socially relevant theatre; on the other hand, getting a whole audience to laugh is a good feeling, especially if it's at ourselves.

What advice would you give to actors today?
Don't do anything that perpetuates lies

Why do you think music and words seems to work so much better than just words as a means to get a message across?
Music set's the emotional scene so brilliantly

What kind of movies do you watch and why?
I seem to watch more foreign films than American or English - I'm off to see Wim Wender's 'Pina' this week. Although I love Mike Newell's 'Dance with a Stranger' and Mike Leigh's 'Topsy Turvy'

What are your opinions about the power of the internet?
Amazing! But like all technological and scientific advances, it's what's it's used for that matters
.
Do you think man is created in the image of God (or Goddess) or the other way around?
The 'other way around' I've got the T shirt (I designed it)!

A recent scientific report stated that religion will eventually die out completely. What's your opinion on that? A good thing or a bad thing?
A good thing - wow! all that energy re-directed to the 'here and now'!

Is "free will" the whole of the law? Can man ever be truly free?
Freedom to me means making choices without prejudice and fear. In fact, I don't think one can be free in the sense of not belonging because we are part of the universe and this we can't control - not yet anyway!

Do you back Nuclear Power? If not, why not.
It's just stupid to imagine we have to go this far to get our needs met!

Do you believe in Ghosts? UFO's (i.e. aliens visiting planet earth)? God?
I think we can conjure up the most incredible images with the power of our mind; images that we can convince ourselves are material and can even become so !. We are really 'magical' beings - God doesn't come into it!

Have you ever experienced altered states of consciousness? How, why and was it beneficial? And would you recommend it to all politicians, business and religious leaders?
Yes, I have and not only with the help of drugs. I think we all do it in order to get in touch with that greater consciousness that is both within us and outside of us. I would recommend it to everyone.
The safest way to do it is through your own mental capacity by emptying your mind and going back to square one, only this time with awareness (keeping your inner eye open!)

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
Being with Spike Milligan comes to mind -we went on some crazy jaunts.

What would you still like to achieve?
I feel I still haven't made my mark in quite the way I want. I'm known and loved for only a part of me and I'm grateful for this; but there's another part to me which I like also and it's a part I have more control over so in that sense it's more 'me'.

Would you ever record a duet with Justin Bieber?
Absolutely - I love to sing!

Do you believe in manmade global warming? Or is it natural?
Yes, I do and it isn't either/or - there is natural global warming - we can do something about the man-made part of it!

And lastly please feel free to say anything at all you want to the world of readers and tell us all about what you're up to these days, plug something, a website or carboot sale.

Check out how I am now -I was asked (quite out of the blue) to be in a film last year -I hadn't acted for about twenty years - it's a cameo role playing a fictionalized version of myself! It pre-supposes that I hadn't gone to Spain but had hung around acting and became a 'Dame' ! Go to YouTube and enter 'The Power of Three' and scroll down to 'maggie's scenes.'
Also check out my Artwork - there's a link from my website www.margaretnolan.co.uk
I'm having some of them screen-printed and I've been asked to show in three East London galleries! - so I feel I'm 'where it's at' again!
Signed, limited editions will be for sale soon - so I won't have to do any more car-boot sales!