7 replies to this topic

[quantumofsolace]

denofgeek
Duncan Bowles
Oct 31, 2012

With it being 50 years of James Bond, I wondered if you remember any pressure on you and Pierce Brosnan, as you were both responsible for playing the two leads back when GoldenEye was the first re-launch of Bond for years?
Yeah, it was the first one that Pierce Brosnan had played Bond, and obviously he had a lot of pressure on him, but he coped very well with it and turned out to be a great Bond. At the same time I felt a certain pressure playing a baddie, a Bond baddie, alongside him the first time, but he was quite cool about it and I think that kind of rubbed off on me. I think we just thought let’s approach it like a job, we won’t let the pressure or anything get to us, any pre-conceptions or expectations and get on with it and that’s what we did and it was great. I have fond memories of that.
Any memory that stands out in particular?
I suppose the first time, the first scene that we did, when we’re in that chemical factory, an armaments factory and just being there and playing alongside Bond, saying “James, I’ll see you in five minutes!” [laughs] It’s quite hard to believe you’re actually doing it, you finish, they say cut, you sit down and talk and think, "That’s it, I’ve started, it’s the start of the film, I’m really playing a bad guy and Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond" - it’s just quite thrilling.
I was writing about seeing GoldenEye for the first time the other day, and all the excitement a new Bond brings, and there seems to have been a Bond for every stage in my life…
There is isn’t there? And it was Timothy Dalton before him, wasn’t it? I think Pierce kind of brought it back to the zippy, funny…
I thought he had a nice mix of the different styles, so he had a bit of the brutality, the charm, the humour…
Yeah he was tough, but he had the charm didn’t he?
And what do you make of Skyfall, the new Daniel Craig one?
I’ve not seen it, but I’ve heard it’s really good. I like Daniel Craig, I worked with him on Sharpe, one of the very early ones, maybe the second one we did - Sharpe’s Revenge? A long, long time ago and he was good in that then. He's always been an actor that stands out, and I remember when he first got Bond and people were slagging him off before he’d even started, and he’s managed to turn that around and stick it back up ‘em! And he’s probably one of the best Bond’s that’s ever been.
It always makes me embarrassed as a movie geek when people are critical of something before they’ve seen it…
Yeah, I know I remember all that that and thinking, "well, wait and see", and he was good… and he is! Good on him.

[thecasinoroyale]

Nice little interview there - thanks for posting.

Loved Sean Bean in 'GoldenEye', a perfect 90s' baddie!

[x007AceOfSpades]

Good interview! I agree, he was perfect as a villain, my second favorite behind Frans Sanchez.

[Iceskater101]

That's pretty interesting, I love Sean Bean as an actor. He plays the villain role really well.

[elizabeth]

I'm glad he and Pierce got along well on set. Kinda makes me think of my favorite movie, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, and how almost nobody got along on set, except for Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor...

[Shaun Forever]

Did anyone else put on Sean Beans accent when reading that to themselves (in their head)?



It's a shame Alec couldn't have survived Goldeneye, then maybe return for Die Another Day or something.

[Double-0-Seven]

Sean Bean always comes across as pretty down to earth in interviews. Nice to hear he has fond memories of GoldenEye and working with Pierce. Bean himself would have been a good Bond.

[Colossus]

Best Bond badguy since a long time.