In a recent interview for Vanity Fair, Spanish-born actor Javier Bardem told the story of how he blanked on his lines when filming Skyfall because he realized how surreal it was to be the villain in a James Bond movie.
“There was a moment where I was shooting this scene on a crystal cell, and then I was supposed to say the lines. I got blank,” Bardem said. “I just realized that I’m in a f*****g James Bond movie. It’s like, M and James Bond are looking at me, I’m the villain!”
Bardem tried to regain composure to film the scene but was thrown off again when Dame Judi Dench‘s phone began to ring. “The ringtone is [the James Bond theme]. It was, like, surreal. Like, “Really, that’s your ringtone?” Bardem said. “It was fun, but at the same time it is a dramatic scene, so it’s like, ‘Come on, guys, let’s focus.'”
Skyfall follows James Bond as he attempts to track down an ex-MI6 agent who has stolen a hard drive with top-secret information that exposes agents’ identities around the world. Bardem portrays the villain Raoul Silva with such stillness that he is sure to send shivers down your spine.
Bardem is an expert at portraying terrifying villains. This was proven when he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his chilling performance as psychopath Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men. What’s even more impressive is a group of psychiatrists studied 400 films and named Bardem’s portrayal as the most realistic psychopath.
Despite forgetting his lines, Bardem has proven his professionalism and has continued to have an incredibly successful career with three films releasing just this year; Dune, The Good Boss, and Being the Ricardos.