Patrick Macnee talks about his roles & Ian Fleming - `I find James Bond repulsive`

31-Dec-2003 • Actor News

Patrick Macnee, who played Tibbet in "A View To A Kill" and narrated the James Bond "Inside" documentaries, has talked GreenCine about his roles on screen, Ian Fleming and the character of James Bond.

You appeared in one of the Bond films and McGoohan was approached early on to portray 007. Was there any talk of you occupying those shoes at the time?
Oh, not remotely. I was far too old. I`m just over 80 now. At the time, no, and then I got The Avengers. I did The Avengers live, which is a difficult way of describing it. In the year 1960, which I think was when the Bond films started, somebody said, when I was in Canada, when I was preparing to do The Avengers, they said, "Will you read the Bond stories by Ian Fleming to get an idea of your character?" And I read it and said, "I would like to play, and in fact, I will not be in the show at all unless I can play, the part completely opposite to James Bond." I find James Bond repulsive, sadistic and, of course, we now read the life of Ian Fleming and realize that he liked smacking women`s bottoms more than anything else. Just read it.

There is definitely a difference between the way that the films are made and the way that the books are written.

The books are written completely on the basis of Ian Fleming, who was a sadomasochist.

[laughs]

Read the book!

You`re absolutely right. I`ve read them.

Read his biography and you`ll see what he liked to do on his girlfriends more than anything else. Bare-bottom smack. It`s true.