Sticking purely to things written by Fleming, Bond is white: * In “You Only Live Twice”, Bond is revealed to be the son of a Scottish farmer and a Swiss mother. * In “Live And Let Die”, it's noted that Bond and Felix Leiter stick out in a predominately black area because they are “two white men.”

Was the original James Bond White?

Yaphet Kotto, who played the first black Bond villain Dr Kananga in 1973's Live and Let Die, argued this case when he told Big Issue: '[Bond] cannot be black. James Bond was established by Ian Fleming as a white character, played by white actors.

What ethnicity was James Bond?

Fleming wrote On Her Majesty's Secret Service while Dr. No was being filmed in Jamaica and was influenced by the casting of Scottish actor Sean Connery to give Bond Scottish ancestry.

How is James Bond described by Ian Fleming?

Physically he is described as 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) in height and 76 kg (168 lb) in weight.” Fleming said he was to look like a cross between Hoagy Charmichael and himself. He's got the "comma of hair" but is missing the eyes that I think you nailed.

Does James Bond need to be white?

It turns out that no law dictates that 007 must be a White man. It also turns out, according to the most recent Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” that 007 doesn't even have to be a man, period.

007 Facts about Ian Fleming

Did Ian Fleming say James Bond was white?

The Ian Fleming books and the resulting movies are not 007 books and movies. They are books and movies about James Bond who is white, British and male as described by Ian Fleming.

Can a non British be James Bond?

Even though Cage says James Bond should always be British, non-Brit actors such as Australian George Lazenby and Irishman Pierce Brosnan have played 007.

Who was Ian Fleming's favorite Bond?

Fleming was also very fond of David Niven for the role (Niven famously/infamously played Bond in the "non-canon" James Bond film Casino Royale).

What did Sean Connery think of Ian Fleming?

“A terrific snob,” Connery said of Fleming in 1983; “but very good company—tremendous knowledge, spoke German and French, got an interview with Stalin one time when he was working for Reuters.”

Did Ian Fleming see James Bond movies?

Fleming saw the filming and release of Dr No and From Russia With Love. He only saw filming of Goldfinger. He died on the 12th August 1964 before Goldfinger was released.

Does James Bond speak German?

The James Bond character in the Fleming books had a Scottish father and Swiss mother, and was educated initially in Switzerland, Thus he became a fluent French and German speaker.

Did Sean Connery and his son get on?

What is James Bond's accent?

But overall, these are brief moments. All the actors who have played Bond used an upper-class British “Received Pronunciation” (RP) accent – whether more “pure”, such as that of Roger Moore and Daniel Craig, or one which went to lengths to remove regional features, such as Connery's.

What is James Bond's ethnic background?

Between the Ian Fleming and John Gardner books, James Bond has been fleshed out to be a Scotsman born to a Scottish lord and a Swiss model. About as white as it gets. You can have a non-white James Bond-type character, but that character will not be named James Bond.

Who was the first real 007?

John Dee: Why The Elizabethan Spy Was The Original 007 | HistoryExtra.

Who is 007 based on?

These included the spy's name, which Fleming took from the American ornithologist James Bond, and the code number—007—which referred to the breaking of a First World War German diplomatic code.

Did Ian Fleming say Bond was white?

Considering you can see his commissioned artist's concept of what Bond would look like on the wikipedia entry for the character, yes he was created as white in the eyes of Ian Fleming.

Did Ian Fleming like Dr. No?

Fleming not only got to see Dr. No, he ended up liking Sean Connery's performance (after objecting to the casting on the grounds Connery was “too unrefined” for the role) so much he made Bond half-Scottish as a nod to the actor.

Did Ian Fleming like from Russia with love?

Fleming was pleased with the book and later said: Personally I think from Russia, with Love was, in many respects, my best book, but the great thing is that each one of the books seems to have been a favourite with one or other section of the public and none has yet been completely damned.

Who was the most accurate Bond?

Raymond Benson noted that Dalton "purposely played Bond as a ruthless and serious man with very little of the wit displayed by Connery, Lazenby or Moore", and considered him "the most accurate and literal interpretation of the role ... ever seen on screen".

Who was the most liked Bond?

And in at number one, Pierce Brosnan

Then let's press on. For us, the Irishman swings the top spot, purely because he marks the perfect mid-point between everything that makes Bond great. His films see a blend of Timothy Dalton's grittiness and Roger Moore's campiness.

What does 007 stand for?

The code name 007 has a specific meaning. The “00” designation signifies the agent's licence to kill, while the “7” is his identification within the elite unit of MI6, Britain's external intelligence service. The M designating Bond's boss comes from the Missions Department.

Who turned down the role of Dr. No.?

Fleming favoured either David Niven, Moore or his cousin, Christopher Lee, with his neighbour in Jamaica, Noel Coward, as Dr No, all of whom were deemed unsuitable for one reason or another. In fact Coward himself turned down the part, famously sending a telegraph to the producers which simply read: "Dr. No? No!