Is Bond Bi? Daniel Craig And Javier Bardem Weigh In Separately On Their Flirtatious Scene Together

James Bond Gay

Bond isn't bi. At least that's what I took away from Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem's separate but equally vague responses to the erotically charged scene they share in Skyfall.  On Monday, the actors took part in separate press conferences to promote the latest installment of the Bond franchise and, in both cases, questions about sexuality arose. 

Related Story: Early Reaction: Skyfall Raises The Bar On Bond

In a piece I posted earlier this morning offering my early reaction to the picture, I noted that in the scene where Bond and the villain Silva meet, the latter caresses the bound MI6 agent's chest.  In response to Silva's attentions, 007 replies, "What makes you think this is my first time?"

Since there's been speculation on the web for a years now now about whether Bond will ever pump more than hot lead into another man,  I asked Craig at the press conference if his character was bluffing when he used this line with Bardem's Silva.

"What are you going to do?"  Craig replied breezily, getting a nice laugh from the crowd, but then he added: "I don't see the world in sexual divisions."  He then  changed the subject from Bond to to Bardem's wonderfully flamboyant character, Silva. "Someone suggested that Silva may be gay," Craig said with a big smile. "And I'm like, I think he'll f*** anything."

As Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson sat silently onstage with Craig, the actor,  natty in a form-hugging suit and skinny tie, then downplayed the scene as  "a great flirt. It's a game of cards," adding: "It the right thing to say, and that way that Javier plays it is so great. He plays it for real, and he plays it to the limit. He never forgets that he's playing a Bond villain."

Finally, Craig offered his final assessment: "I love that scene," he said  "It makes me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh."

Earlier in the day, Bardem dropped some hints about his character that may shed a little more light on the scene.  Asked how Silva's "sexuality informed [Bardem's] interpretation of the character, the actor responded; "It  was part of the game, but it’s not entirely the game."  Bardem explained that his "main goal" as Silva was creating "uncomfortable situations" for anyone who crossed his path. "Within that, you can read anything that you want or wish," Bardem said. "But  it was more about putting the other person in a very uncomfortable situation where even James Bond doesn't know how to get out of it."

In other words, that scene between Bond and Silva isn't about sex. It's about power.  Right?

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Comments

  • Lanita Lum says:

    You are an ass!!! You obviously don't know what it's like to have a son in the military. It takes a special person to give 110% of themselves for every Americans' freedom! I thank the powers that be that we have courageous and dedicated young men and women willing to put their lives second to ours. I guess you should be listed on the third list - let'em smoke!

  • Paul says:

    I don't think Bond is Bi (though I wish he were 🙂 ). In fact, I think this scene really didn't have anything to do with attraction as much as it did with reminding the viewers of Bond's predicament in Casino Royale when he was strapped to a chair in a vulnerable position.

  • Say says:

    No, it's just Bonds humor. He's kidding with Silva. Bond wants to have the last word. It has nothing to do with sexual attraction, even if the scene for the audience was very hot. 🙂
    In another view, it could be like Paul said.

  • Sugi Anto says:

    Let's not forget the next scene when Silva challenges Bond in shooting the whiskey glass placed on Severine's head: 'Let's see who ends up being on top' 😉

  • Bella_Nars says:

    Hi i thought it was an elegant, teasing, sexy scene possibly enjoyed equally by men as by women. Frank your article is great. I am following your posts now...

  • Michael says:

    Where exactly are you getting Craig or anyone else is denying Bond is bisexual? Actually, there's every indication they are indeed making Bond bisexual. I see pieces like this reporter's which state they don't see Bond as being bisexual but then don't offer up one piece to back it up.

    Unreal.

  • T'omm J'Onzz says:

    so Bond flirts with Silva? nice; Craig said he was ready for a same-sex kiss or something, some whatever-it-takes thing for Bond to succeed. this scene in Skyfall tho does echo my sentiments that, what with M now being a woman, there could be a /Mister/ Moneypenny aide/secretary, gay, who would crush on Bond and with whom Bond would flirt with/lead on terribly – "a great flirt" as Craig noted. 🙂

  • Noneu says:

    I am getting tired of all of the gay crap, why can't James Bond be and stay a lady's man?
    I mean I haven't watched the film but I am not spending my money on this crap... Who is next?? Gay Superman?? Oh I know Gay Conan the Barbarian? come on guys not everything has to be gay! I keep my opinions to myself but this has got to stop... Not everyone is gay and there does not have to be a gay person in every TV show or film... I am sick of this crap ruining the classics and future projects.
    Yes there are gay people in today's society but you don't have to put them into all of the films... I am getting sick of it. Its just goofy to ruin films.

    That is all I have to say about that!

    • Noneu, thanks for the feedback. You should see the movie. It's really, really good. And I'm not a huge fan of the Bond movies.

    • LPiss says:

      Calm down dude, you won't be gay for watching this, so you don't need to worry. The problem will be if you get a bonner from this scene, so don't tell anybody. Don't worry, it's still totally worth your money. Best Bond movie to date

    • Ian says:

      You're an idiot. Two people that are shown as "possibly" bi and you flip a tit, you raving lunatic. TWO PEOPLE ONCE IN THE ENTIRE BLOODY FRANCHISE, SO SHUT THE F*CK UP. And actually, you ARE forced to put gay people in films if you want to show realism because, as you said, there are gay people in the world. It's as if only having all whites in the film. No, you aren't forced to show blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc., but if you want it to be realistic in any sense at all (not that Bond movies is realistic, mind you, but the screenwriters did want the audience to connect to it somehow) you're going to have to show realistic situations, and not all situations in the world involve straight white males and females.

    • Thimblina says:

      You should see the movie. If you've ever been around someone questioning your sexuality, you would understand the scene.

      Javier Bardem was out to make Bond as uncomfortable as possible. If you saw the first Bond with Craig, he is being tortured with a spiked ball on a chain being slammed against his bare bottom and genitals. He tells the torturer, laughing, that he can now say the man spent hours playing with his balls.

  • Mike says:

    Well post humous revelations about J Edgar Hoover were to say the least shocking!I believe the traditional bond should be preserved intact and undefiled.Any bi/gay issues should come as post humous reflections after the world has rested him which I hope will not happen for a long long time.007 is and has always been the alpha male setting the bar for most other action heros lets not lose that please!The innuendo's are funny though and that scene with Javier was hillarious,however I got disturbed at the thought of him defiling our timeless hero.God forbid the opening scene in the next Bond will be him wrestling his way out of a dicy soap/shower scene in some Latin American maximum security prison!Over to you Sam Menendes, thanks for a great film

  • Linuish says:

    I don't necessarily think that Bond is nether gay nor bi. What I do belive is that he don't really care and is willing to do whatever it takes, and I think it is nice that this cene plays into that a bit. I hope to see more of this in the future. To me, it makes him seem less compromising. Powerplay is exhilarating and to some extend will always be sexuelly charged.

  • Eleonore says:

    It doesn't change the fact that in male world sex is popular way to show power and hide weakness. Is archetypic. Homoerotism of this scene is obvious. Even means power.

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  • wallace will says:

    james bond does not have a 16 year-old mentality and isnt homophobic like far too many "straight men". he is cosmopolitan, powerful and secure in his manhood and sexuality...this is why he is able to "dance" with rodriguez without being ruffled because ultimately it IS about power at many levels. i can see him exploiting a man using sex as a weapon just as he does with women when it is expedient to his mission

  • Amanda says:

    How many movies actually are there that reference gay sexuality? And which ones are they? Skyfall is my first Bond film, and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it... I never knew there had been so many films with all these controversial issues. I always heard of Bond but never really knew him.. all I knew was that he was an agent called 007, there was always a memorable(even amusing) "Bond Villain", and he always got the ladies lol 🙂 Thanks for any response!

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