Skyfall Screenwriter Talks James Bond Gay Subtext

There’s been much interest in a particular scene in Skyfall where the villain played by Javier Bardem flirts with James Bond and stroked his chest. There was even a hint of possible 007 bisexuality, as Bond is trying to get out of the sticky situation and comments, “What makes you think this is my first time?”

So is Bond meant to be bisexual? Well, the film’s screenwriter,John Logan has now been talking about it, and he seems keen to burst the bubble of those wondering if the secret agent will be getting into a bit of man love in future adventures.

Speaking to THR at the film’s New York Premiere, he says people have said he’s turning Bond bisexual “Because I’m, in fact, gay but not true at all.”

He adds, “(Director) Sam (Mendes) and I were discussing, there were so many scenes where Bond goes mano-a-mano with the villain, whether it’s Dr. No or Goldfinger or whatever, and there’s been so many ways to do a cat-and-mouse and intimidate Bond, and we thought, what would truly make the audience uncomfortable is sexual intimidation; playing the sort of homoerotic card that is sort of always there subtextually with characters like Scaramanga in Man With the Golden Gun or Dr. No. So we just decided that we should play the card and enjoy it.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean 007 has never indulged in a bit of experimentation, but it’s seems unlikely we’d ever see that on screen, or that it would be anything other than obliquely mentioned. And the sad truth is, that even in the Skyfall scene, it comes across as more Bond playing the villain’s game against him that an actual confession.

When Craig was asked a couple of weeks ago about the scene and whether Bond is bluffing, the actor commented, ‘”What are you going to do? I don’t see the world in sexual divisions.” He then changed the subject from Bond 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.’ I love that scene, It makes me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh.”