Sealed with a kiss: Rami’s shock when Daniel Craig planted a smacker on him
One of my favourite lines in a James Bond movie is from Tomorrow Never Dies. Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, hooks up with Danish professor Inga Bergstrom.
“I’ve always enjoyed studying a new tongue,” he quips after a smooch.
I thought of that line last week during an interview with Rami Malek – the Bond villain in the forthcoming No Time To Die.
Rami won an Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, and I sat down for a chat with him about next year’s latest Bond blockbuster – which is set to be Daniel Craig’s last.
And he admitted he had a great amount of chemistry with Daniel during rehearsals… so much so it resulted in a KISS.
“I was the new kid on the block coming in with a lot of ideas and I had one that worked and made it into the film,” said Rami.
“I think I earned him picking me up and giving me that kiss.
“We had a scene that was very complicated and we were rehearsing for it with our terrific director.
“We were sitting at a table for hours, just batting about ideas, back and forth, and we finally cracked this really challenging scene.
“And he grabbed me, picked me up – and I can’t tell who initiated the next moment, whether it was him or I – but a kiss transpired between the two of us.
“I’m going to say that Daniel initiated it, and I was very taken aback.”
A kiss between Bond and the villain? I’m looking forward to seeing what else they’ll throw in to this new film.
A few weeks ago I chatted with Fleabag writer and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and she was drafted in to beef up the script for No Time To Die.
Rami is very much a fan. “She’s a great writer to begin with, whether you look at Fleabag or Killing Eve,” Rami added.“She’s extremely talented in so many different arenas.
“At one point we were talking about a scene over the phone, and I said,‘This is a very climatic moment, are we sure we want to interject some humour here?’ and she said,‘Well he just can’t help himself, can he?’
“So she had a really, really good sense of who he was – Bond – entering all this.”
“It’s a very fine line as you want to make it a very memorable character, but, you don’t want it to be a caricature.”
Rami is certain this final Daniel Craig outing is going to be a special one.
“The trailer is great because it hints at a few things but you can’t really get an idea of everything that’s going on,” he added.
“With this being Daniel’s last outing and the 25th instalment of Bond, it’s nice to let everyone come in and know they’re going to see something thrilling and action-packed but I think this one might be more emotional.
“It’s a really extraordinary film for Daniel to end on and myself to be a part of.”