Javier Bardem explains how he asked director Sam Mendes to play the iconic James Bond theme music while his character is on screen in Skyfall.
Javier Bardem explains how he asked director Sam Mendes to play the iconic James Bond theme music while his character is on screen Skyfall. This year’s No Time to Die was Daniel Craig’s fifth and final release 007. Of his films, many consider Casino Royale 2006 and Skyfall 2012 to be the best that Craig’s era has to offer. To mark Bond’s 50th anniversary, the quasi-meta-skyfall focuses on an aging 007 who isn’t quite ready to say he’s lost a step just yet.
With Skyfall focusing on Bond and Judi Denchs M’s relationship, starting with a decision that results in 007 being mistaken for dead, Skyfall is analyzing what it means to work for Crown, Country and MI6. The film reinforces this by introducing Bardem’s villain, Raoul Silva, a former secret agent desperate to get revenge on M for letting him die; Silva’s attack on MI6 brings Bond out of his seclusion. Ultimately, Bond defeats this bizarre version of himself, losing M in the process when she dies in 007’s arms.
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In a Vanity Fair piece, Bardem collapsed his career from No Country for Old Men to Skyfall. During the interview, Bardem spoke about how surreal it was to be involved in a Bond movie. At one point, the Spanish actor couldn’t help but ask Mendes to play the Bond theme music while Silva is on screen. See the full quote below:
“Working with Sam Mendes is a gift, it’s a pleasure, it’s great. It’s so rewarding in every way. And one day I said to Sam, ‘Sam, I love you. Thank you for giving me this chance, it was great, but I want to ask you a favor. I know the sound of [imitates Bond music] will be as it should for daniel but just give one [imitates Bond music again] while I’m on the screen, please. ‘ And he gave it to me. “
The “James Bond theme” is of course the characteristic music of the Bond films and just as recognizable as the theme music from Stars Wars or the theme of Indiana Jones. Much more than that. It’s been in every movie since Dr. No from 1962. Usually the piece accompanies the gun barrel sequence. Sometimes, however, especially in recent years, the music can be heard on significant scenes. In Skyfall, for example, Bond travels to an abandoned island off the coast of Macau, where he is extradited to Silva. After an outstanding villainous monologue and some brutal target practice, Bond alerts MI6 reinforcements with the latest thing from the Q branch: a radio – at this point, Bond music is playing while helicopters fly over Bardem’s character.
Bardem’s talent for portraying antagonistic characters like Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men can certainly be seen in Skyfall. Enhanced by Bardem’s performance and the dichotomy between his character and 007, one could easily argue that Raoul Silva is the most memorable Bond villain of the Craig era. Since these are two sides of the same coin, it is poetic that Bond’s theme music is played on screen with Silva. Like Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye (1995), Silva Bond is after a series of very bad days that led him to give up his moral strength and MI6. That being said, it’s clear Bardem is grateful to be able to play a Bond villain in a definitive era.
Source: Vanity Fair
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Josh Plainse
(679 published articles)
Josh Plainse is a Wisconsin-based writer, film, and television fan. Josh works for Screen Rant, covering the latest in the entertainment industry while pursuing the never-ending dream of becoming an established novelist, screenwriter, and / or decent person. Josh would credit characters like Goku, Han Solo, Simba, and Maximus Decimus Meridius for instilling an affinity for storytelling into him. It is this incessant obsession that has led him to seek opportunities to inform, entertain, and inspire others. Plus, he enjoys the occasional pint, doing push-ups, and wearing denim jackets. Contact Josh directly: plainse (at) gmail (dot) com.
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