Daniel Craig’s era as James Bond was one that cannot easily be forgotten. Not only did he leave a massive shoe for future actors to fill, but his entire reign as Agent 007 was heavily loved by fans from across the world. While he was out there saving the world, the audience was also introduced to an enigmatic team that worked with him.
This included none other than Ben Whishaw’s Q; Bond’s guy in the chair. Although there was not a lot that was revealed about him, aspects were certainly focused upon and some of them were even too close to home for the actor, including Q’s coming-out story. It was no big reveal, so much so that many might even forget that it was part of his personality as well. This made it clear that even Whishaw wasn’t so happy with it.
Daniel Craig’s Co-Star Wanted A Better Reveal For His Character
Coming out is a very significant moment in any individual’s life who is part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or anything outside of those, coming out is both of emotional value as well as social value. For a gay actor to be playing a gay character, it was more important that if focus was put on that fact, it should be followed through.
“I think I thought, ‘Are we doing this, and then doing nothing with it?’ I remember, perhaps, feeling that was unsatisfying. For whatever reason, I didn’t pick it apart with anybody on the film. Maybe on another kind of project I would have done? But it’s a very big machine. I thought a lot about whether I should question it. Finally, I didn’t. I accepted this was what was written. And I said the lines. And it is what it is.”
No Time to Die featured a moment where Q was introduced to be gay. However, this topic was never brought up again and was brushed past as if it held no significance whatsoever. Because of that, Daniel Craig’s co-star in the film, who also plays the character; Ben Whishaw was highly disappointed by the inclusion of that piece of information.
Hollywood’s Take At Diversity and Progressive Outlooks
It is not every day that a good movie or series comes out that is also sensitive to what is going on in society. Some pieces of information may seem forced just to prove that the studios are following just how progressive society is nowadays. With such a case, even movies like No Time to Die lack. It is not that difficult to be both progressive and do it the right way rather than just for the sake of attracting audiences and getting money. One of the greatest examples of that would be Heartstopper.
The series is so innocent yet it tackles some of the most progressive themes. At the same time, societal pressure can be heavily overbearing. Once again taking the case of Heartstopper, Kit Conner, the actor for Nick Nelson was forced to come out to the entire world because of how much hate he was getting just because he was playing a gay character. There are two parallels to the world of media and even with Ben Whishaw’s criticism, it would take a long while for studios to understand just how to do it right.
Source: Variety
