As the 25th Bond film in the long-established franchise, No Time To Die had some gigantic shoes to fill and a lot of expectations to live up to. So naturally, it seems only fitting that the project would bring on board some talented names. The cast includes Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ana De Armas, and Billy Magnussen, alongside Daniel Craig’s Bond.
As always, every Bond villain needs loyal henchmen. In No Time To Die, Billy Magnussen assumes that role with poise and finesse. Even as a newcomer to the Bond universe, Magnussen proves his worthiness as a formidable foe for veteran agent James Bond.
Billy Magnussen portrays Logan Ash, an American intelligence operative employed by the CIA. However, his allegiance is short-lived as Ash turns out to be an undercover mole for renowned terrorist Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek).
Magnussen spoke to Looper prior to the Blu-ray release of No Time To Die. He discusses his friendship with Jeffrey Wright, who portrays Felix Leiter in the interview. As Bond fans will know, the MI6 agent has a close companionship with Leiter, but the character met his tragic end as a result of Ash’s double-cross.
When mentioning Wright, Magnussen shared his reaction to discovering that Logan Ash would kill Felix Leiter. He said, “What was my response? I was like, “Hell yeah, dude!” I mean, just to be part of this franchise alone is massive, but then to have the opportunity to be such a chess piece in this film was so good. It was so, so exciting. I can only say I’m grateful to Cary and Broccoli and Michael, just for giving me this opportunity to be in the Bond world.”
Subsequent to sharing an intimately pivotal scene, Magnussen developed a budding friendship with Jeffrey Wright. He shared, “Oh, yeah. I love Jeffrey.”
In addition, Magnussen shared his experiences working alongside Daniel Craig and fighting Craig’s Bond. When asked about Craig’s refusal to further participate in the Bond franchise, Magnussen commented on Daniel Craig’s reception, saying, “He made the stage so welcoming and shared it so graciously. I have no complaints with him. I respect that man so much. Yeah.”
When speaking more specifically on fight sequences, Magnussen said, “That’s the fun of it. There was this beautiful stunt team from France that choreographed the whole thing.”
On the prospect of Logan Ash returning to the Bond franchise and reprising his role, Magnussen commented on the chances of seeing Ash again. “Yeah. Well, we never actually saw Logan Ash die, just pointing that out.”
Read the full interview here.
No Time To Die is available to purchase on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 21st.
