As Skyfall drew to a close, the filmmakers introduced the man who would take over the role of the iconic character M.
M: Ralph Fiennes
The brilliant actor Ralph Fiennes inherited the part from Dame Judi Dench. “I’m very aware of the legacy,” says Fiennes. “I grew up with Bernard Lee’s M and then Judi Dench made such a fantastic impression. She brought a real toughness that I’m keen to carry on.”
Fiennes grew up an avid reader of Ian Fleming, John le Carré and Graham Greene and feels that the character of M is moulded by the image of the Cold War spy. “And though I know that’s not our era,” he says, “I feel this M is a child of that spy-slash-film world. Sam Mendes follows the demands of the Bond franchise but also allows us the opportunity to give more shade to our characters. With M there is a doubt and uncertainty that you get in the literature of that period.”
M’s doubt and uncertainty arises early on in SPECTRE when he comes under serious pressure from within the intelligence services. “M’s role as the head of MI6, as well as the Double-0 section – where you’re licensed to kill – is under threat,” says Fiennes.
“There is a rethink of how the security services manage themselves. Andrew Scott plays the role of C, or Max Denbigh, who is the head of MI5. He is about to head up a merger of MI6 and MI5. In this merger, C will become the boss. So we’re looking at the possibility of the Double-0 section being nixed, which will mean that Bond and M will be out of a job.”
For actor Andrew Scott, the pressure exerted by Max Denbigh/C is a delight to play. “My character is a very charming man, and a very intelligent guy,” he says. Not only is he stewarding the merger between MI5 and MI6, he is also overseeing a new facility that is being built. “It is an extraordinary new building. The cutting edge of global surveillance.”
“The idea is that surveillance will now be stepped up,” the actor continues. “He has the opinion that one man in the field, even someone like Bond, cannot really compete with the huge technological advances that we’ve made in the 21st century.”
Scott notes that his character’s ideas are incredibly relevant to the modern world. “The idea of people losing control of their digital ghost and their online legacy, is central to the storyline in SPECTRE,” he says. “It’s something I think we can all relate to — our privacy and how much information we feel is right to keep to ourselves and how much we need to be protected. That’s a big question and it’s very relevant right now.”
The ideas extolled by C not only threaten Bond and M, but also their support team, Moneypenny and Q, two long-running characters who were reintroduced to the series in Skyfall.
“I felt relieved that the previous film was such a success, and that people have accepted me in the role,” says Ben Whishaw who returns as Q. “That was a relief, and so I felt some degree of confidence but also the character is in a different place in this film. All the characters are, in fact, because of what’s happening with their jobs, and their environment.
“This merger is happening and there are big changes going on. Everyone’s futures are being called into question, so everyone feels scrutinised and under pressure.”
In spite of the threat to his position, Q proves himself a real friend to 007 and puts his neck on the line. He disregards orders in a bid to help Bond achieve his own mission objectives.
“I think that there’s a respect for Bond,” Whishaw says of his character’s relationship with 007. “He is still slightly wary because Q sees that Bond has this strange magnetism and power over people and indeed over Q himself. So Q has to try and control that. Yet there is a great loyalty towards him as well.”
Also returning from Skyfall is Moneypenny, brought to the screen for a second time by Naomie Harris. After accidentally shooting Bond during the early stages of Skyfall, she surrendered her position as a field agent to work for Fiennes’ character.
“Moneypenny in this film is behind the desk again; she’s not out with Bond in the field,” Harris explains. “She is still assisting him, but this time doing something much more secretive.”
One of the key themes in SPECTRE is the issue of trust, and that is brought to the fore in the Bond-Moneypenny relationship. Early on in the narrative, when 007’s trust in his organisation is diminished, he still believes in Moneypenny.
“What’s really great about SPECTRE is that their relationship has really developed and they’ve become a lot closer. They really trust each other,” Harris says of Moneypenny and 007.
“Bond is someone who doesn’t really have friends as such. That he would class Moneypenny as his friend is a real honour for her and she feels really proud of that. He’s not someone that you get close to very easily. Of course, there is still a lot of flirtation on both sides.”
Bond, of course, is drawn to women and in SPECTRE proves that he can still woo them. The first female to fall under his spell is Estrella, whose company he enjoys while working in Mexico City. Mexican actress Stephanie Sigman plays the role.
“The opening scenes of the film starts with Bond and Estrella celebrating the Day of the Dead in this amazing location with thousands of people,” says Sigman. “It is a beautiful scene because it’s very close to the reality of how we celebrate that day in Mexico. That was very nice for me, being Mexican, and it wasn’t difficult to get fully immersed in the scenes.”
Bond also encounters the beautiful widow Lucia Sciarra, played by Italian Monica Bellucci, an actress that producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli had tried to recruit in the past, denied only for scheduling conflicts. “We’re delighted to finally get her,” says Wilson. “She is terrific in the role.”
Bellucci, meanwhile, says that she was delighted to finally join the series. “I said yes right away because I was very happy to work with Sam Mendes and to be part of this project,” she explains. “I have so much respect for the James Bond films in general because I think they are such a big part of cinema history. And I respect so much all the James Bond girls; I think they are beautiful actresses and talented and it was very interesting for me to be part of this history.”
The character she plays is a seductive Italian woman who holds a number of secrets. “Her Mafioso husband is killed and she risks the same thing happening to her,” Bellucci explains. “When she first meets Bond she doesn’t trust him because she comes from a world where only corrupt men have the power.
“But the chemistry and the attraction between them is so strong and she realises her feminine power over him. Then she trusts him. He saves her and she gives him the information he needs.” She laughs. “And they find an interesting way to sign a contract with each other!”
Another woman playing a pivotal role in SPECTRE is Madeleine Swann, who is brought to the screen by French actress Léa Seydoux. “She’s a doctor and she’s a strong woman,” Seydoux says of her character. “She is intelligent, independent and she doesn’t want anything to do with Bond when she meets him for the first time. She’s not impressed.”
As the story progresses, however, events force a change in their dynamic, and their relationship softens. “She understands Bond very well because she has an insight into the world that he lives in,” the actress continues. “For his mission he needs to understand things from his past and he needs Madeleine for the information she can provide. Eventually, it is a very strong relationship between them.”
While the new women in Bond’s life prove a good influence, his relationship with the men in the film is much more troubled. During his penetration of a SPECTRE meeting he comes face to face with an enigmatic and chilling character, the organisation’s leading man, Oberhauser, played by two-time Academy Award®-winner Christoph Waltz.
“In this film it’s the classic, and the classical, protagonist/antagonist dynamic,” Waltz says. “The dynamic is that the hero’s major existential quest needs to be thwarted, and every obstacle needs to be set up to the degree that endangers not just the achievement of this quest but endangers the existence of the hero himself.
“Everybody was very aware that this dynamic is, to say the least, very desirable in this context. That dynamic is what makes these stories really interesting.”
Waltz is especially happy to star in one of Daniel Craig’s Bond films given their grittier and, on occasion, darker tone. “With Daniel, some of the jocular tone from the earlier films evaporated and that was very much on purpose,” says the Austrian star. “During the course of Daniel’s films, Bond has emerged a more troubled soul and less of the ironic prankster type. Whether that continues in this film, or shifts again, audiences will have to wait and see.”
As is often the case in Bond films, a very distinctive henchman supports the main villain. One only need consider Auric Goldfinger and Oddjob, or Francisco Scaramanga and Nick Nack, to name but two. In SPECTRE, the filmmakers not only introduce Oberhauser, but also Hinx, his muscle-bound field agent, played by Dave Bautista.
“I think this film has something of an old-school feeling, especially when you consider the history of SPECTRE,” Bautista says. “They’re this large, mastermind organisation that is everywhere. They’re very mysterious and it’s important that they remain that way.
“I always thought it was really cool to be the bad guy,” he adds, “but being a member of SPECTRE, specifically, is really great.”
Hinx, he notes, is a great match for Bond. “The character is really, really strong which you notice in one fight scene in particular. When you think of Bond you don’t often see him losing in a fight. But it happens in this film.”
Another important man in the SPECTRE story is Mr. White, played by Jesper Christensen. The character was responsible for Vesper Lynd’s betrayal of Bond in Casino Royale and he also appeared briefly in Quantum Of Solace. “He appears to be a crime boss of some kind but it turns out he’s not completely at the top because there’s someone over him,” says Christensen.
The man at the top is Oberhauser. “White has fallen out with his associates and he’s been in hiding,” Christensen continues. “Now, though, he has been found, and he’s being slowly poisoned.”
When Bond finds White, the latter is almost at death’s door. “He doesn’t really know what to do,” says Christensen, “but Bond makes White help him in his investigations into SPECTRE. Bond hits on White’s love for his daughter. White has one daughter and that is the only thing in his life that he really cares about. To protect her, he lets Bond in on some secrets.”
The revelations in Spectre suggest that there is one man behind all the tragedy that Bond has faced during the last three films.
