In its many, many years of existence, there has been a massive growth in the James Bond franchise. It was a humble book series (by the incredibly talented Ian Fleming) before exploding into a high budget spectacle, with a multitude of amazing actors taking on the lead role, and a roster of exceptional musicians providing the theme music.
There is also a lot going on behind the scenes. We’ve gathered 10 of the best behind the scenes facts from across the series’ long history.
The Furniture Was Intentionally Small
In the very first Bond film, Dr. No, we were being introduced to the titular spy himself for the first time. Sean Connery was pretty average height, and certainly wasn’t the shortest of the Bonds, but in true Hagrid fashion, it was made to look bigger on screen. Except he isn’t a half-giant, so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Either way, to facilitate such an illusion, most of the sets and furniture used in the first film were intentionally slightly smaller, to give the impression that Bond was a little bigger.
Daniel Craig Performed His Own Stunts
Tom Cruise is the king of performing his own stunts. He is known for ending up with some pretty serious injuries, as well as quite literally hanging off of the edge of a plane for Mission Impossible. However, Daniel Craig also liked to take on a few stunts of his own.
Arguably the most impressive of these come in his third Bond film, Spectre. He slid down the escalator himself, while also pulling off the train-top fight himself. This is pretty impressive, but understandable when you take a look at his training regime.
Spectre Was The First Film To Not Feature Derek Watkins
Derek Watkins might not be a name you’re familiar with, but he was referred to by Dizzy Gillespie as ‘Mr. Lead’, and recorded with the likes of The Beatles. He was the lead trumpet player on the soundtrack to all 23 of the Bond soundtracks up until Skyfall. Unfortunately, this was to be his last, but the fact that he had appeared on every single one from Dr. No onwards is a seriously impressive feat. In 2002, his trumpet solo was the first thing you hear in Chicago.
The Bonds Didn’t Like Die Another Day Very Much
As with quite a few of the late-90s/early-2000s Bond films, Die Another Day isn’t exactly remembered as one of the series highlights. While Pierce Brosnan was good as Bond, the series seemed repetitive and stilted until Daniel Craig came about.
Brosnan himself wasn’t a fan of all of the abundance of gadgets and effects found in the film, making it his least favorite of his own films. Roger Moore himself even expressed a few issues, also referring to the CGI as one of the main issues. Remember, this is the film that tried to legitimize an invisible car, after all.
Q Died In A Real Life Car Accident
Q was a character that appeared in all but three Bond films. Like Bond himself, the character has gone through a variety of faces, from John Cleese to Ben Whishaw in the 2000s. However, once upon a time, Desmond Llewelyn was the face of the character for seventeen films in a row, with plans to continue indefinitely. Devastatingly, the actor died in a car crash just a few weeks after the release of The World Is Not Enough, aged 85 in 1999. Having starred alongside him in multiple films, Roger Moore spoke at his funeral.
Rowan Atkinson’s First Film Was A Bond Flick
Rowan Atkinson has become a household name as the global phenomenon Mr. Bean, as well as the central character in the spy parody series Johnny English. If you were wondering where he got his interest and expertise in the spy world, then it was from the Bond franchise. Well, sort of. Never Say Never Again isn’t really an official Bond film, with Sean Connery reprising his role seven years after retiring his version of the character. Either way, Atkinson played Nigel Small-Fawcett, which was his first film appearance.
A Record-Breaking Car Stunt
It might be a very specific record that you would likely assume doesn’t have as many attempts per year as, say, “most pegs on face,” but Casino Royale holds a world record, nonetheless.
The very memorable scene that sees an Aston Martin barrel roll broke the record for “most barrel rolls assisted by a cannon,” achieving seven full rolls with a modified system installed behind the driver’s seat. Seven doesn’t seem like a lot, but for a car, it’s a pretty crazy number.
The Particularly Intense Fight Scene
Michelle Yeoh was known in the 1990s for her intense, direct approach to fighting choreography. Portraying Wai Lin just a couple of years before her appearance in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, everyone in Tomorrow Never Dies was literally too scared to fight her.
As such, they had to draft in the stunt team of Jackie Chan himself in order to deal with her full contact style (which they were all used to).
Bond Couldn’t Have Sex Due To AIDS
Around the time of Licence To Kill, the world was on high alert as AIDS was on the rise. There was a rumor at the time that the reason the films were less sexual during Timothy Dalton’s era was due to this, but Dalton denied this. Since the epidemic has passed and Dalton’s time as Bond is long in the past, he has openly admitted that this was in fact true.
Egypt Wasn’t Allowed To Be Portrayed Negatively
One of the strangest occurrences in the Bond franchise comes from 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me. With a great deal of filming taking place in Egypt, the crew had to be accompanied by a representative from the government of the country, who would make sure that the country was seen in a positive light.
As such, this is the reason Bond’s “Egyptian builders” line might sound a little weird. In order to get past the strange censor, Roger Moore mouthed the line and dubbed it over in post-production.
