Ben Whishaw "Unsatisfied" In No Time to Die's Handling Of Q's Sexuality

Actor Ben Whishaw, who has played James Bond's gadgets guru Q in 2012's Skyfall, 2015's Spectre, and 2021's No Time to Die, has expressed his frustration in a new interview with how the franchise's latest film underplays the reveal that his character is homosexual. During one scene in No Time to Die, Q offhandedly mentions having a date with a man--and that's the extent of the film's real estate for that character detail.

"I don't feel it was forced upon the studio," Whishaw told The Guardian. "That was not my impression of how this came about. I think it came from a good place… I think I thought, 'Are we doing this, and then doing nothing with it?"

Added Whishaw, "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 [Bond] is 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."

However, later in the interview Whishaw also observes that he's "happy to admit maybe some things were not great about that [creative] decision."

No Time to Die is an especially noteworthy installment in the Bond series because it is Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as the British superspy. The movie was also among the first high-profile productions to be delayed due to COVID--it was originally expected to release back in April 2020. You can read GameSpot's review roundup for the film here. The next James Bond could be revealed soon--although concrete details are still thin, long-time fan-favorite candidate Idris Elba is reportedly in consideration.

As of February 2021, Whishaw's other huge film franchise, Paddington, was in active development for Paddington 3. The actor voices the titular bear.