James Bond story: Phoebe Waller Bridge reveals truth behind BIG role on No Time to Die

Phoebe Waller Bridge is a name known all over the world for her incredible acting and writing skills. Her TV series, Fleabag, gained one major fan, Daniel Craig, who proved invaluable in gaining her a place at the James Bond writers’ table. But what was her contribution to No Time to Die?

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In an interview on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show, Waller Bridge revealed exactly what she had to do with it, and it turned out she was given the role of “offering different alternatives” to some major scenes.

With the director, Cary Jojo Fukunaga, also in the writers’ room, Waller Bridge was fighting for her work to be included alongside writers Neil Purvis and Robert Wade.

But it turns out Waller Bridge had more than just alternatives to offer, as she had been “dreaming” of an idea for Bond before she was even asked, meaning there was something specific in her mind when she walked in the door.

Asked about the writing gig on Evans’ Virgin Radio show, she said: “I was in the edit for Fleabag.

Phoebe Waller Bridge reveals truth behind BIG role on No Time to Die

Phoebe Waller Bridge reveals truth behind BIG role on No Time to Die (Image: Eon/Getty)

“It was an afternoon, and I had the call that Barbara wanted to meet me.

“The strangest thing is, is that I’d really… I had been sort of dreaming about the idea of it only a few months beforehand.

“I was like, ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be cool to be involved in a Bond film’ and sort of just put that there in the ether. And then it just came around.”

Her role may be played down by the writer, however it clearly means she had a huge role in what we will see on screen.

She continued: “[I was asked to do] dialogue polishes and to offer things really. It’s about just offering different alternatives.

“They did give me some scenes and then be like, ’Can you write some alternatives for this or have another idea about where it could go in the middle or how it would end?’

“And then I would just give them options and various scenes and then they would take what they want.

“But there was a lot people writing – the director was a writer on it as well. And there’d been a few writers before.”

Daniel Craig as James Bond in No Time to Die

Daniel Craig as James Bond in No Time to Die (Image: Eon)

While Waller Bridge may suggest she only gave them “options,” being given whole scenes to rewrite certainly seems like a huge deal, and fans will likely have the chance to see her work when the movie comes out.

It seems unlikely, given it was Daniel Craig who brought her into the room, that her work will go unused.

Speaking of who she got involved, she said: “You know, Daniel [Craig] is really, really involved from the beginning.

“[I had] so many great conversations with him about it, constantly in touch with him about it. So it’s a big sort of melting pot of everybody’s ideas the whole time.”

As she mentioned, there were a huge number of writers involved, with names such as John Hodge, Paul Haggis and Scott Z Burns.

Rami Malek as Safin in No Time to Die

Rami Malek as Safin in No Time to Die (Image: Eon)

Burns, speaking about his role in the film writing exclusively to Express.co.uk, said: “I think Daniel [Craig] has been an incredible custodian of that character and I think for the people who like the direction he has taken it, they are going to really love what happens next.”

Not wanting to give too much away, Burns then described how his own experience writing The Bourne Ultimatum helped him on Bond, describing how these two are from “the same coin.”

He added: “It’s fun for me because a few years ago I got to write a Jason Bourne movie and they’re definitely opposite sides of the same coin.

“So I’m thrilled to have had a chance to contribute to the other side of the coin.”

Burns, while not revealing any plot points, said director Fukunaga had a “clear vision” for the Bond 25 movie, and instilled in both Burns and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who was brought on in April 2019 to edit the script, a sense of what direction they were to move in.

Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann in No Time to Die

Lea Seydoux as Madeleine Swann in No Time to Die (Image: Eon)

Asked what state the script was in when he arrived on it, Burns said: “It was in a completely reasonable state.

“Cary [Jojo Fukunaga, the director] had a very clear vision of what he wanted to do and I think what he encouraged me to do and then after I left, Phoebe, was to continue to push us towards something that both continued the time honoured traditions of Bond, but also continued to ground it in a world which we live in.

“That was what was exciting to me about going to work on it. Cary and Daniel and Barbara [Broccoli, one of the producers of Bond] all recognised that that was where they wanted to take this episode.”

No Time to Die is in cinemas on April 2

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