Rami Malek Talks
Safin Explained In No Time to Die Short
“What I really wanted from Safin was to make him unsettling.” This is how No Time to Die star Rami Malek describes his villainous character in the upcoming James Bond sequel. The quote comes from a short that focuses on Sarin and serves as a brief introduction to his character. So far, there hasn’t been a lot of information about Lyutsifer Safin but this short video does do a good job letting people know just who he is without spoiling the movie too much.
Malek is no stranger to playing unsettling characters. Most may know him for his role as Elliot Alderson from the hit TV show Mr. Robot. He’s been acting since 2004 and has been involved with several well-known TV shows and movies. He’s had roles in The Pacific, 24, the Night at The Museum series, The Legend of Korra, and Bojack Horseman. His most recent role was in The Little Things. With Malek playing Safin, he probably felt right at home.
So just what is Safin’s motivation in No Time to Die? According to Léa Seydoux’s character Madeleine Swann, “Revenge.” The fact that she is the one to deliver that line means that there is history between the two characters. We know from the previous Bond film Spectre that her father was involved with some unsavory characters before his death. Perhaps she and Safin crossed paths at some point.
Rami Malek mentions that Safin is also trying to do something heroic in the film. Well if he wants revenge on Swann and has Bond coming after him, whatever he’s doing can’t be that heroic. The short shows glimpses of what appear to be Safin’s servants in his super-secret villain hideout. These are probably meant to be references to the classic Bond film Moonraker. If so, then that means Safin’s motivation is probably similar to the motivation of that film’s villain Hugo Drax. In Moonraker, Drax wants to kill off the human population with a deadly virus to start over with a new master race. This plot was parodied in the hilarious Kingsman: Secret Service so it wouldn’t be surprising to see it make its way back to a James Bond film.
If you want to know more about Safin and his evil yet somehow heroic plan, you’ll have to see No Time to Die which will release on October 8 this year.
