"This is a really special phenomenon"

Rami Malek is SAFIN

Were you a Bond fan growing up?

So many people love this character and love this franchise, and the novels as well. I count myself among them. That iconic score and music in each and every film is in and of itself extraordinary. They’re their own small pieces of art that are a part of cinematic history. We all attach ourselves to our favourite Bond. Everyone has that conversation endlessly about who is the best, and who is their favourite – and it’s something we get to enjoy with our families. This happens in almost every country across the world. You can’t take that for granted. It’s something truly extraordinary that is a really special phenomenon.

I just count myself extraordinarily privileged to be not only playing the villain, but to be part of cinematic history as well.

We can’t quite place your accent as Safin…

I think it’s good that you couldn’t quite place it. That was our goal. Cary kept [offering] thoughts about him sounding as if he could be from centuries past, and a sound of voice that could be considered timeless, and just difficult to nail down from what region of the world…

I worked on a number of accents, and would come back to him. Eventually, for me, it was an amalgamation of a few different places that I thought collectively would make a mysterious impact vocally. And I used the help of William Conacher, a terrific dialect coach, who helped me with Freddie’s voice on Bohemian Rhapsody.