‘I knew was a urageo thg to do’: The cur story of Bond’s first gay villas | The Inpennt

james bond gay characters

There’s been excement about Q’s queer revelatn ‘No Time to Die’ but the anchise’s first gay characters appeared all the way back 1971’s ‘Diamonds Are Forever’. Fifty years on, Adam Bloodworth talks to the actors who played Mr Wt and Mr Kidd about why they’re worth celebratg

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JAM BOND'S FIRST OPENLY GAY CHARACTER REVEAL NO TIME TO DIE MA ME TEAR UP

* james bond gay characters *

In the 1950s, homosexual acts, or at least on volvg mal, were agast the law the Uned Kgdom.

In the post-war perd, a number of real-life Brish spi, such as the Cambridge Four fected to the Soviets, and some of them, such as Guy Burgs and Antony Blunt were attracted to men, which helped create a negative image of gay spi. Lren Spungen cricized the portrayal argug that the "battle between heterosexualy and homosexualy" is a metaphor for the battle of "good and evil". He forms part of the gay gentleman's outfter trope, which n be found Brish culture om ss such as Are you beg Served?

It is subtly hted that he may be a relatnship wh Q, if so that would make this film's Q the first gay one until Ben Whishaw.

‘I KNEW WAS A URAGEO THG TO DO’: THE CUR STORY OF BOND’S FIRST GAY VILLAS

The existence of gay Jam Bond characters throughout the super spy's film and book seri has been ght wh queerbag and homophobic trop, but * james bond gay characters *

Fordyce is a Bond ally, but also reprents a mcg stereotype of a gay man. Wt and Kidd who never refer to each other by first name the film of Diamond Are Forever are a gay male uple.

In the novel Kidd is nicknamed varly "Dolly" or "Boofy" (the latter nickname also ed the film), and Felix Leer says he spects Kidd “probably shacks up wh Wt”, and says "some of the homos mak the worst killers". Actor Javier Barm who plays Silva, when asked if the character was gay or bisexual said, “You uld read that way.

'NO TIME TO DIE' HTS Q IS GAY LANDMARK LGBTQ+ SCENE

Inial plans for Timothy Dalton's third Jam Bond film clud a gay agent, which would've had a major anchise impact - had actually happened. * james bond gay characters *

Ben Whishaw's Q is shown to be a gay man No Time to Die, and is wag for a male date the film. Ben Whishaw himself is a gay man real life. This is the first time one of Bond's "support team" has been shown to be openly gay, but was not ma obv earlier appearanc of Ben Whishaw's prev portrayals of the character.

The 1967 Caso Royale film has s own mp Q, but is not clear if he is gay (he do have a spat wh Fordyce), although Geofey Bayldon himself was. Assistant Commissner Ronnie Vallance appears the novel of Moonraker, and is not gay. While wag for his ntact, Assistant Commissner Ronnie Vallance, he be creasgly ncerned that he might be mistaken for eher a crimal or one of the fluential people “sperately hopg to persu Vallance that their sons were not really homosexuals”.

It’s a remr that 1955, when Moonraker was published, homosexual acts were still crimal offenc. In the novel of The Man wh the Goln Gun, M mentns a "popular theory that a man who nnot whistle has homosexual tennci" and is noted that Sramanga nnot do so. GLQ: A Journal of Lbian and Gay Studi 7 (3): 417–423.

JAM BOND’S GAY HT WAS ALMOST CUT OM SKYFALL, SAYS PRODUCER

Ben Whishaw says the 007 reveal that his character Q is gay was maybe not handled as effective as uld have been. * james bond gay characters *

"When Can Homophobia Live and Let Die? ↑ 'Skyfall' Bisexual Scene: Jam Bond Screenwrer Reveals Impet Behd Homoerotic Interrogatn, Huffgton Post. is no doubt one of the most macho movie anchis of all time, but om the moment I saw Golneye as a ltle gay kid at a iend's hoe, I was hooked.

ACTN ROUNDUP: GAY JAM BOND CHARACTER; VENOM’S ‘COMG OUT PARTY;’ ‘QUEER FAY’ OF ‘MARVEL’S ETERNALS’

But Bond movi also feature badass and fabulo women, tons of drama and some ser emotnal moments -- exactly what a ltle gay kid Craig's turn as Bond has shaken thgs up, serly mornizg the anchise terms of both style and story. No Time to Die is the 25th official Bond movie and Craig's last -- and troduc the anchise's first out gay character a moment that got me One light spoiler ahead.

It's the first time ever a Jam Bond movie that a character has been explicly gay, and 's actually acknowledged out loud, no ls.

BEN WHISHAW SAYS HE FOUND HIS 'JAM BOND' GAY CHARACTER REVEAL 'UNSATISFYG'

Nila Dove/MGMThis isn't to say there haven't been implied queer characters or super gay moments before. In Skyfall, Bond and villa Silva (Javier Barm) have a homoerotic terrogatn scene -- and don't even get me started on the naked torture sequence Caso Royale.

Havg a ma supportg character be openly gay a anchise like Bond is a big al, ma better by the fact that Whishaw is gay himself.

HOW JAM BOND'S DROPPED GAY AGENT WOULD'VE CHANGED THE FRANCHISE

And bee Q appears every Bond movie and is sometim played by the same actor even when Bond is rest, Whishaw's gay Q uld appear future Bond movi. 13:19Pl, No Time to Die is jt one of the mpit and gayt Jam Bond movi ever. Ana Armas' cktail-chuggg character Paloma is stantly inic, exactly what gays want om a Bond girl: betiful, funny and jt pla badass.

BEN WHISHAW ADMS THE REVEAL THAT HIS JAM BOND CHARACTER IS GAY FELT 'UNSATISFYG'

While I doubt we'll see a gay Jam Bond anytime soon, the hope of more progrsive stori and character reprentatn has me exced for what Time To Die was released Sept. This isn’t to give eher of those away, but to divulge a third: that Bond’s handy gadget man, Q, is gay.

BEN WHISHAW UNSATISFIED BY HIS BOND CHARACTER’S GAY REVEAL: I THOUGHT ABOUT QUTNG IT

)All of which mak gay henchmen Mr Wt and Mr Kidd back 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, all the more remarkable. To give some ntext, 1970, the year the film was shot, 70 per cent of Amerins thought homosexual relatns were wrong, while the UK was only three years to Wt and Mr Kidd were played by Bce Glover and Putter Smh, two straight men, but even then they reportedly riled Connery. Glover, who is now 89, remembers the star beg unfortable wh homoerotic jok durg the shoot.

BEN WHISHAW ON HIS GAY ‘BOND’ CHARACTER REVEAL: ‘MAYBE SOME THGS WERE NOT GREAT ABOUT THAT DECISN’

“He didn’t know me, so he thought I was gay. Villas throughout cema history have tend to reflect current “fears” and attus, and homosexuals have a long history of beg vilified. It’s a topic wrer Vo Rso explor his semal 1981 book The Celluloid Closet, which ns through onscreen queer stereotypg om the Sixti to the Eighti, om Dr Frank-N-Furter The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Sharon Stone’s bisexual Cathere Tramell Basic and director Guy Haton were rponsible for nceivg the characters for the screen and feels as if they med edy orr to create gay characters sued to themselv and mastream dienc of the time.

“I didn’t want to be that kd of clichéd gay guy, ” Glover rells, thkg perhaps of the mpns of Richard Burton and Rex Harrison’s gay barbershop uple 1969’s Stairse. ”Lowbridge-Ellis go so far as to pots out that much about the characters is, actually, “unniably homophobic”.

BEN WHISHAW EXPLAED WHY HE FOUND THE REVEAL THAT HIS "JAM BOND" CHARACTER WAS GAY "UNSATISFYG"

From the way Mr Wt was dispatched wh a bomb up his backsi to the obv fact that here were two straight men makg margalised gay men the butt of their jok, ’s easy to argue how Wt and Kidd were explog the LGBT+ muny rather than supportg by simply beg onscreen, the duo had reprented the gay muny – and ma a whole crowd cludg myself feel seen – whether their creators had tend to or not. No Time to Die featur a scene that seems to nfirm Ben Whishaw's Q is gay, makg his character the first ally of Jam Bond (played by Daniel Craig) to be out as a member of the LGBTQ+ the 007 anchise has prevly had characters that were d gay or were LGBTQ+ the Ian Flemg books, the were nearly all the new Bond movie (**spoilers ahead**), Bond and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) make a surprise vis to Q's apartment to lnch a vert missn whout the knowledge of M (Ralph Fienn). Avengers: Endgame h the headl for a scene which a man mourns the loss of his male partner durg "The Blip, " for example, while the more recent Jungle Cise featur a scene which Jack Whehall's character some have praised the scen, others have cricised them for beg mor moments that are tratgly y, that avoid speakg plaly about characters' gay liv.

DID NO TIME TO DIE JT OUT ONE OF THE CHARACTERS AS GAY?

Meanwhile, some viewers have poted out that the films should seek to tegrate their characters' sexuali throughout the film, rather than talk about them short clips that seem to be signed so they n easily be cut out untri wh anti-gay laws and sentiments. As No Time to Die has only been released a few untri so far, however, remas to be seen whether the film will ed this scene ls tolerant this Q scene may only be a mor moment, is a landmark a anchise that has prevly had gay villas, wh their homosexualy d as part of what mak them so example, the novel Diamonds are Forever, Felix Leer spects that sadistic killers Mr. Kidd are gay – somethg the movie leans to by havg them hold hands and say that one character is attractive "for a lady.

The latt Bond movie "No Time to Die" hts that the character is gay. The novel Goldfger featur the homophobic trope that Psy Galore only beme a lbian after beg sexually abed by a man. In the movie, meanwhile, she is d lbian, but is implied that Bond is able to turn her straight wh his male this Q scene No Time to Die suffers om the same problems as other morn blockbters that overpromise and unrliver on LGBTQ+ ntent, do speak for the efforts the anchise has ma to be more makers of Skyfall, for example, have spoken about havg to fight to keep a scene which Bond flirts wh Silva (Javier Barm) and hts at a prev gay experience.

Whishaw, who me out himself 2013, has prevly played gay characters like Norman Stt A Very English Sndal and Danny Holt London Spy. In 2019, The Sun reported that Whishaw was lobbyg the Bond team to clu a gay character – though this should be treated wh some scepticism, as filmg had already begun on the film when the report me recently, he has h headl for advotg for a gay actor to play Bond. Flemg was himself known to have disda for open exprsns of homosexualy.

PIERCE BROSNAN TALKS GAY JAM BOND: 'WHY NOT?'

Mgham’s homosexualy may have been subtly referenced Quantum of Solace, a short story by Flemg about the dwdlg fort a lovg relatnship n provi. And th far, only a few villas have been gay — a fleetg ht of chemistry wh Silva Skyfall‘s leted scene, and two silly henchmen Diamonds Are Forever.

THIS CLASSIC BOND CHARACTER MAY BE GAY 'NO TIME TO DIE'

Jam Bond’s ht Skyfall that he may have had a gay experience his past was a missn too far for stud executiv, acrdg to the film’s producer, who said she had to fight attempts to cut the scene. ”The signifince of the scene was wily bated at the time – screenwrer John Logan said was “playg the sort of homoerotic rd that is sort of always there [ Bond films]” – but acrdg to Brocli almost didn’t make the fal versn, a global smash that ma $1.

“I thk there’s a huge homoerotic unrtow a lot of Bond movi, ” he former 007 claimed Brocli would never allow a gay Bond her lifetime.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* JAMES BOND GAY CHARACTERS

Ben Whishaw Says 'Jam Bond' Gay Character Reveal Was 'Unsatisfyg' .

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