Hired by Hammer Studios and spotted by James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me, Caroline Munro was also seen in Starcrash and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. But according to this year’s headliner guest at Finnish festival Night Visions, it was all a happy accident.

Cineuropa: Are you surprised that the genre community still appreciates your work so much?
Caroline Munro: I’m amazed and very humbled because much of the work I’ve done was a long time ago. I feel so lucky that they still recognise my little parts in it. It means an awful lot. For me, it’s all about meeting people. I’m a timid one, but I enjoy it so much.

At Night Visions, they are showing a few of your films: At the Earth’s Core, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad. And Maniac, of course, which people are still talking about.
It’s an interesting one. It was made on a very small budget, and it was one of the first guerrilla-style films I took part in. I’d worked with the wonderful Joe Spinell [who starred in Maniac and co-wrote it] before on Starcrash. We were kindred spirits. Later, we met by chance at a festival. He wanted Daria Nicolodi for the part, but she was filming with Dario Argento. They wanted someone who looked Italian, and I just happened to be there. Joe said: “Read it.”

I like this selection because most events show Dracula A.D. 1972 and James Bond. It’s lovely to get away from that and to see Captain Kronos again, which to this day remains one of my favourite films. That character resembled me the most. And Sinbad – wow! I was so, so lucky to meet Ray Harryhausen. These films still resonate with people. They were beautiful, regardless of whether I was in them or not. And they had no CGI!

Sinbad is also a part of cinema history – precisely because of what Harryhausen did. Actors nowadays are used to green screen or motion capture. But you were trailblazers!
We really were, but we had Ray to lead us. He was an extraordinary artist, and he’d show us the wonderful artwork that he had drawn. He would say: “Caroline, this is your creature.” He wanted us to see what the final product would look like. I knew there was going to be a centaur, but on set, all I had was a very tall wooden stick. On the top of the stick, Ray had painted an eye, which was actually very clever.

It’s always interesting to see what people still like. Usually, I get hardcore Maniac or Hammer fans, or some who tell me they were kids when they first saw Sinbad. It’s such a beautifully crafted film. It struck a chord because Ray Harryhausen wanted to tell fairy tales, and that’s exactly what he did. It was pure magic, and there was a sweetness to it. We could all use a bit of sweetness in the world right now. I loved making that movie, even though it was such hard work. That and Starcrash were the hardest because they were so physical. But I was young and fit back then, so I relished it.

Many of your characters displayed a certain kind of strength. They were more powerful than many would have expected. There’s something modern about it, even though the outfits were designed to show off your looks.
I think it was vitally important to me to stay true to myself. I had nothing to fall back on except my instincts. If your gut says it’s right, you should just go with it. I think women are finally being recognised – even when it comes to James Bond, because in these new films, they are finally equal. They are as strong and as powerful as the men.

When these roles started coming in, did you pursue them enthusiastically? Did you have an affection for genre beforehand?
I grew to love the films, but it wasn’t something I pursued. I didn’t pursue acting. It all happened by accident – initially, I wanted to focus on art. I’m very, very dyslexic, so that has been a bit of a struggle. When I left school at 16, I had no idea what to do next. I loved going to galleries and exhibitions, and I got into art school in Brighton. But then I met this young man who was studying photography, and he asked my mother if he could just take some headshots of me. I didn’t even know what headshots were at the time! With her permission, he sent them to a newspaper – they were looking for the “Face of the Year”. Strangely, I was chosen. I became the face of 1966, as judged by David Bailey.

I had no classical training at all, but the contract with Hammer [Munro was the only actress to have been put under contract with the legendary studio] and working with Peter Cushing [on At the Earth’s Core] and Christopher Lee [on Dracula A.D. 1972] was the turning point for me. It was just an accident, but a happy one, because it really became my passion. These days, I do a little show in England: it’s called The Cellar Club, and it’s about old films. I love doing that.

It’s absolute serendipity, isn’t it? You can’t help but think about other paths you could have chosen. But hey: I’m still here. And when I look at some of my films, I think: “That was okay!” [laughs]