No Time to Die's LGBTQ+ reveal was "unsatisfying", says Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw in No Time to Die
(Image credit: Universal)

Q actor Ben Whishaw has reacted to his character’s "unsatisfying" sexuality reveal in No Time to Die.

"I’m very happy to admit maybe some things were not great about that [creative] decision," Whishaw told The Guardian of the moment which saw Daniel Craig’s James Bond and Naomie Harris’ Moneypenny intrude on MI6’s quartermaster busily preparing for a date with his boyfriend.

Expanding further, Whishaw said, "I think I thought, ‘Are we doing this, and then doing nothing with it?’ I remember, perhaps, feeling that was unsatisfying," but he added that "it came from a good place."

"For whatever reason, I didn’t pick it apart with anybody on the film," Whishaw said. "Maybe on another kind of project I would have done? But it’s 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."

Another person who has picked apart No Time to Die recently is former 007 actor Daniel Craig.

On his definitive goodbye to the role, Craig told Variety that Bond’s death was a personal choice that had been in the works for some time. 

"I feel like I needed to end what I did on it. I would be only satisfied if I could walk away and there was nowhere else for that to go, that someone else would have to come along and invent something completely different."

Now the dust has settled, discover where No Time to Die lands in our ranking of the best James Bond movies. Then find out who could be in the frame (and gunbarrel) to replace Craig as the next James Bond.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.