Rami Malek Reveals the One Condition He Insisted on Before Accepting Bond Villain Role

If there’s anything that makes or breaks a Bond film, it’s the big bad wolf of the piece. Bond villains are some of Hollywood’s most notorious characters - some are legendary, some are…meh. The next man in the villain hot-seat for the coming Bond 25 is Egyptian-American actor, Rami Malek, but the Oscar winner has admitted that he had to think twice before accepting the role.

In an interview with British tabloid, The Daily Mirror, Malek revealed that he raised concerns with the film’s director, Cary Fukunaga, regarding his yet-to-be-named Arab character’s identity and motives. “We cannot identify him with any act of terrorism reflecting an ideology or a religion. That’s not something I would entertain, so if that’s why I am your choice, then you can count me out," he explained of an element that, for him, was non-negotiable. “But that was clearly not his vision. So he’s a very different kind of terrorist.”

Malek has often expressed pride in his Egyptian and Arab identity, noting that his heritage and culture are “the fabric of who I am,” while also revealing his wish to one day work with directors and filmmakers from Egypt and the Middle East. Bond 25 will be Malek's first big role following his Oscar win for his role as legendary musician, Freddie Mercury, in Bohemian Rhapsody, and is scheduled for release in April 2020.