Rami Malek almost turned down his Bond villain role fearing his character would be a religious fundamentalist
Actor Rami Malek has revealed that he needed to be reassured that his upcoming Bond villain role would have no religious or ideological associations. He also shared that had almost turned down the role over fears that the character would be a religious fundamentalist in the new Bond 25 film.
The 38-year-old actor said that he needed a guarantee from American film director Cary Fukunaga that the character would not be an Arabic-speaking terrorist. During an interview with the Mirror, the Oscar winner shared, "It's a great character and I'm very excited. But that was one thing that I discussed with Cary. I said, 'We cannot identify him with any act of terrorism reflecting an ideology or a religion. That's not something I would entertain, so if that is why I am your choice then you can count me out'."
"But that was clearly not his vision. So he’s a very different kind of terrorist," Malek added. He revealed that he would be playing "a great character" and was "very excited" to be cast in the film which is due to release in April 2020. "It's another extremely clever script from the people who have figured out exactly what people want in those movies," he shared.
In the official plot summary of the film, Malek's character has been described as "a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology." His role and casting were announced when the latest Bond film began shooting in April.
The production will be Daniel Craig's fifth time as secret agent James Bond. It has been reported that Craig sustained an injury while filming an action sequence in Jamaica which required him to undergo ankle surgery in May. The following month, a crew member sustained a minor injury while filming a controlled explosion at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.
The cast also includes the likes of Naomie Harris, Lea Seydoux, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Whishaw.