Andrew Scott isn’t thrilled with his James Bond villain — and he says why
Andrew Scott has recently looked back on his 2015 James Bond villain turn — and there’s one bit he now regrets.
Let's be honest, it's not every day you hear a former James Bond villain say he felt a bit out of his depth on set. But that's exactly what Andrew Scott — you probably know him from Fleabag — just admitted about his time as the baddie in Spectre back in 2015. And fair play to him, it's a refreshingly honest take on working inside one of cinema's most well-oiled (and occasionally intimidating) machines.
Regrets, He's Had a Few
Chatting with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott took a frank look back at his stint as Max Denbigh (aka C), the MI5 boss with some pretty ropey intentions in Sam Mendes' 007 outing. Despite sharing history with the director and working alongside some proper British acting royalty, Scott says he never really let loose creatively — because he didn't quite feel like he belonged.
Here's how Scott puts it, reflecting on his hesitancy:
“I think I allowed myself to be somewhat intimidated by the James Bond-yness of the whole thing. I guess I feel like there were things that I could have pushed or suggested. And I knew Sam really well, but it’s that feeling as an actor — I think the most important thing that you should have on a set is a level of comfort that you’re able to say, ‘What about this and what about that?’ And that you feel like you have the time.”
He went on to say that, looking back, he didn't really feel "worthy enough" to push his own ideas at the time, even though the atmosphere was friendly and the cast included his mates Ben Whishaw and Ralph Fiennes, as well as Daniel Craig. Scott called everyone "incredibly kind people", and had plenty of praise for Mendes as well — but regrets not bringing his full voice to the role.
The Story Behind 'C'
Now, if your memory of Spectre has faded a bit (easy enough, given some of Bond's more convoluted plots), Scott played the government official spearheading the Nine Eyes initiative — a plan that would basically let a global intelligence network spy on everyone and everything. He worked to merge MI5 and MI6, trying to scrap the 00 agents altogether. Unsurprisingly, Bond exposes Denbigh as an agent for Blofeld and the titular evil organisation, Spectre, during the film's climax.
SPECTRE hit cinemas in 2015 with Andrew Scott as MI5 chief Denbigh, better known as ‘C’.
No Big-Budget Guarantees
Scott also used the opportunity to highlight another lesson he's taken away from massive studio jobs: size of budget means bugger all for an audience if the project itself doesn't bring some spark. As he put it, what people actually crave in a film is "aliveness and daring and flair," not just expensive toys or big sets. There's your unsolicited wisdom from one of the best character actors around.