Rami Malek explains his Bond 25 work so far and changes to schedule

20-Jun-2019 • No Time To Die

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Rami Malek gave a round table interview to the press on Monday night to promote the fourth and final season of his show 'Mr. Robot', which is currently filming in New York, and unveiled a lot of detail about Bond 25.

On the subject of working with Daniel Craig, Malek confirmed the pair are yet to share a scene. "I haven’t shot with Daniel yet, but I’m thrilled to work with him,” he said. “Daniel is an actor I greatly admire. Over the years, I think he’s put in such phenomenal performances. I found him so captivating in films like Layer Cake and, of course, the Bond films. This is another moment where I find myself pinching myself; not only to work with him, but also a director I’ve wanted to work with for so long in Cary Fukunaga. To be part of this franchise is to be part of history again.”

In another interview yesterday, Malek confirmed he had filmed for a week on Bond 25 earlier in the year. 

“We’ve already filmed in Norway for a week,” he confirmed. "That’s where I got to work with [director] Cary Fukunaga and our incredible cinematographer, Linus Sandgren. They are a great team. So far, so good. So far, so great.”

After Craig's injury was reported, the tabloids ran stories that the chaos caused to the shooting schedule would mean that Malek would not be available to film key scenes opposite 007. “The key scenes is something that was fabricated,” he said. “But the thing is, Daniel was injured, so they are shooting what they can. I talked to Cary yesterday and the schedule has been altered. I know that. But with a franchise like this, I think they have it together. They have it figured out by now.”

“I feel a substantial weight on my shoulders. I mean, Bond is something that we all grow up with. The one thing I have going for me is I played one beloved Brit in Freddie Mercury and I pulled that off, so I feel like I can possibly have a shot at playing the villain in a Bond film. Another 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. It’s another extremely clever script from the people who have figured out exactly what people want in those movies. And yeah, it’s a great character. I am very excited. I can’t wait to shoot more soon.”