Not many actors have to step into a role that was at one time played by an actor in seventeen films previously, so perhaps it’s fair to say that Ben Whishaw has it more difficult than most young actors by appearing as James Bond’s personal armorer Q in Skyfall.
After Desmond Llewelyn played the role in seventeen of the first nineteen Bond movies (Llewelyn died in 1999), John Cleese appeared as Q (though as a different character holding the Q position) in 2002’s Die Another Day, but the character has been missing from the series since.
Because of that, it’s no surprise that Whishaw admits he was apprehensive about appearing as Q in Skyfall. He confesses, “I suppose I was intimidated a bit. But I also thought, this is such a good opportunity because I’m so much younger than the character. I mean, I can’t really be compared, and I wouldn’t try. Desmond [Llewelyn] and John Cleese were so tremendous, so I thought it had to be new and fresh.”
Though Whishaw may not break Llewelyn’s record anytime soon, he hopes to stick with the series as long as possible. He says, “I don’t know how many I’m due to do. I want to do it as much as I can. I had such a wonderful time.” Still, while it might be Whishaw’s first Bond film, it isn’t the first time he’s working with Bond — that is, current James Bond Daniel Craig. He says, “I have worked with Daniel before. I first worked with Daniel when I was 17 on a film called The Trench and then I did Layer Cake with him, and I did a film called Enduring Love, so I [feel] like I know him fairly well, so it was wonderful to be reunited with him.”
via Yahoo! News
