Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Don't miss these
Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Movies Cillian Murphy says Netflix's Peaky Blinders movie is the "natural conclusion" for Tommy Shelby
Rebecca Ferguson as Kaulo Chirklo standing in front of a fire in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Crime Movies Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man star Rebecca Ferguson says the Netflix movie works as a "standalone film"
Christian Bale in The Dark Knight
Crime Movies Christian Bale promises Heat 2 will be "something great", and he came close to working with Leonardo DiCaprio before
A hooded Dr. Gideon carries Grace on his shoulder in Resident Evil Requiem.
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem's Leon actor was so unnerved performing next to the main villain he would "start giggling"
Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville in I Am Legend
Action Movies I Am Legend 2 release date speculation, cast, plot, trailer, and everything we know about the upcoming horror sequel
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Horror Movies 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple review: "The wildest and weirdest entry into the franchise yet"
Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir
Superhero Shows Nicolas Cage wanted to play his 1930s superhero detective in Spider-Noir like a "spider pretending to be a person"
The Mummy
Action Movies The Mummy 4 directors say the panned Tomb of the Dragon Emperor threequel isn't canon because Rachel Weisz wasn't in it
Spider-Noir aiming his webshooter
Superhero Shows New Spider-Noir character art gives us our best look yet at the spin-off's rogues' gallery, from an unlikely source
Christian Bale as Frank in The Bride
Horror Movies The Bride star "cherry-picked" his Frankenstein's monster from the bits Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff "got right"
Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders
Fantasy Shows Cillian Murphy "categorically" denies rumors he's playing Voldemort in the HBO Harry Potter show
Christian Bale as Frank in The Bride
Horror Movies Christian Bale on exploring the more "comedic" sides of Frankenstein's monster in new sci-fi horror The Bride
A screenshot of James Bond in 007 First Light's reveal trailer.
Games 007 First Light: Everything we know so far about IO Interactive's new Bond game
Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Sebastian Hansen in A Minecraft Movie
Adventure Movies A Minecraft Movie 2 producer drops the biggest hint yet that the Ender Dragon will appear in the sequel
Superman coming face to face with an eerie, inhuman version of Brainiac
DC Movies Braniac star says it's a "true miracle" that he was cast in Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

Rami Malek responds to rumours his Bond villain is Dr. No: “I would never shoot something like that down”

News
By Jordan Farley, Jack Shepherd published 4 March 2020

Malek also revealed he only watched one Bond movie while preparing for the role: Dr. No...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Rami Malek as Safin in No Time To Die
(Image credit: Universal)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

Spectre introduced the world to Christoph Waltz's Blofeld – a reimagining of the iconic James Bond villain. With the upcoming sequel, No Time to Die, heading into cinemas soon, rumours have begun circulating that Rami Malek's Safin could be a version of Bond's first-ever on-screen adversary, Dr. No. 

Our sister publication Total Film magazine sat down with the Oscar-winning actor to ask him outright whether he was willing to shoot down these internet rumblings, and his answer was typically cryptic. “I would never shoot something like that down. It’s intriguing,” he replied with a smile. So which Bond films did Malek watch in preparation? “Only Dr. No,” Malek said. Intriguing indeed. 

There’s no actual evidence that Safin and Dr No. are one and the same, of course. No Time to Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga tells TF that “there’s a sense this guy could be from a large- scale chemical/pharmaceutical family” and that Safin is “someone who’s not necessarily a public face, but who wields a lot of power behind those people”. Whatever the case, Safin promises to be a deadly threat to Bond.

You may like
  • 007 First Light 007: First Light is "not a role-playing game" because it's James Bond's story
  • A young James Bond smirks in 007 First Light with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame 007 First Light will do something no Bond game has done before – slow down: "Players might be surprised"
  • Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson and Jack O'Connell as Jimmy Crystal in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple star says Dr. Kelson is on a collision course with Jimmy Crystal "It's good and evil"

No Time to Die opens in the UK on April 2, before opening in the US on April 10.

Total Film speaks in detail to Daniel Craig, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Lashana Lynch, Ana de Armas, Rami Malek and more in their new issue, which his shelves on 6 March. There are two different covers available on the newsstand, check them both out below:

(Image credit: Universal/Total Film)

(Image credit: Universal/Total Film)

If you’re a fan of Total Film, why not subscribe so that you never miss an issue, and you’ll get exclusive subscriber-only covers delivered directly to your doormat before the magazine hits shelves?

We’re currently running a subscription offer where you can subscribe for as little as £10.25 for three months, and you’ll also get a die cast metal 1:100 replica of the Hogwarts Express from Corgi. Head to My Favourite Magazines now to take advantage of the offer. (Ts and Cs apply.)

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Total Film's latest subscription offer.

(Image credit: Universal/Corgi/Total Film)
Jack Shepherd
Jack Shepherd
Social Links Navigation
Freelance Journalist

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.

Read more
007 First Light
007: First Light is "not a role-playing game" because it's James Bond's story
 
 
A young James Bond smirks in 007 First Light with the GamesRadar+ Big in 2026 branding frame
007 First Light will do something no Bond game has done before – slow down: "Players might be surprised"
 
 
Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson and Jack O'Connell as Jimmy Crystal in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple star says Dr. Kelson is on a collision course with Jimmy Crystal "It's good and evil"
 
 
007: First Light
007 First Light devs drop trailer hours before The Game Awards, revealing a new celebrity James Bond villain
 
 
Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders
Cillian Murphy "categorically" denies rumors he's playing Voldemort in the HBO Harry Potter show
 
 
Daniel Craig in Skyfall standing next to a car.
Despite being owned by Amazon, every James Bond movie will be streaming on Netflix from January 15
 
 
Latest in Movies
A Na'vi draws a bow in Avatar: Fire and Ash
James Cameron says Avatar 4 is still "very likely", despite Fire and Ash making $870 million less than The Way of Water
 
 
Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator
Arnold Schwarzenegger says he'll be in the next Predator movie and a Conan the Barbarian sequel
 
 
Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Elijah Wood says he "wouldn't want anybody else to play Frodo", and now we're thinking he's in The Hunt for Gollum
 
 
The new GamesRadar+ logo on a dark background adorned with crosses in orange and grey
The next generation of GamesRadar+ is here
 
 
Hayden Christensen in Revenge of  the Sith
Star Wars fans are debating an iconic Revenge of the Sith scene that's now one of the saga's biggest 'what if' moments
 
 
Jessie Buckley as Ida/Penny in The Bride
The Bride bombs at the box office with $13.6 million opening against a $90 million budget
 
 
Latest in News
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead Gustave faces a gommage
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 took inspiration from a surprising anime - Soul Eater creator's Fire Force
 
 
A close-up of Grace talking with someone through glass in Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem leads let actors re-do "technically" perfect scenes if it made them happy, says Grace actor
 
 
Kratos approaches Aphrodite's bedchamber in God of War 3
"The God of War sex mini-games were designed by women," which is why Aphrodite's bed looks "like a labia"
 
 
Alan Ritchson in Reacher season 3
Reacher star Alan Ritchson says season 4 is coming this year: "It's by far the best season we've had yet"
 
 
Spider-Noir aiming his webshooter
Spider-Noir is the "same character, different version": "It's not a continuation of Into The Spider-Verse"
 
 
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 support agent says "there's no balance team" at Arrowhead because "it's all a team effort"
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Close up of PS1 console on woodgrain TV bench next to OSSC with Sir Dan MediEvil figure on top.
    1
    If Sony thinks surge pricing won't prompt me to shun new-gen consoles and go back to the PS1, it should think again
  2. 2
    Spider-Noir showrunner says the goal is "to make a version of Spider-Man that no one had seen before," clarifying it's the "same character, different universe" from the Spider-Verse variant
  3. 3
    Helldivers 2 support agent says "there's no balance team" at Arrowhead because "it's all a team effort": "No dev gets to just change whatever they want without oversight"
  4. 4
    Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami has been working on a new AAA action RPG for at least 1 year after Microsoft closed his last studio, and no one noticed
  5. 5
    How to complete the Marathon Introducing Sekiguchi contract

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...