The James Bond films have a legacy of over six decades and the books by Ian Fleming were legendary even before that. The franchise is one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time and has seen multiple actors essay the titular role of James Bond. The films have inspired many films and other media in the spy genre and have a profound effect on pop culture.
Every work has been inspired by something, and even James Bond was reportedly inspired by multiple people and events. Legendary actor Christopher Lee claimed that he knew James Bond more than anyone else as the author Ian Fleming was his first step-cousin. He also mentioned many of the characters in the series were inspired by Fleming’s real-life acquaintances.
Ian Fleming Based James Bond On Stories He Heard During World War II
Author Ian Fleming created the iconic spy James Bond as his tribute to the stories he had heard as a child and reportedly based the character on many events he had witnessed during the Second World War. According to The History Press, Fleming reportedly mentioned that he was inspired by the exploits of British intelligence during the First World War.
Fleming reportedly got inspired by the ornithologist James Bond, who had written the book Bird of the West Indies. The book was in his study while he wrote the first novel of the legendary franchise Casino Royale. Fleming also reportedly based characters in the series on real-life people in the military. Q was reportedly inspired by Charles-Fraser Smith, an employee at the Ministry of Supply (via The History Press).
Many of Fleming’s inspirations reportedly lead back to his time in the Naval Intelligence Division and as a part of Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive. The History Press mentioned that Fleming was particularly interested in the NID’s operations during the First World War and based many of the events on contemporary Britain after World War II.
Christopher Lee Claimed That The Bond Villains Were Inspired By Real People
One of the most fascinating trivia about Ian Fleming’s life is that he was the first step-cousin of actor Christopher Lee. The Dracula star was reportedly Fleming’s first choice to play James Bond as Lee too was part of the SOE and had a prolific military career and a record in espionage. The actor would eventually go on to play the villain Fransisco Scaramanga in the film The Man with the Golden Gun.
Lee claimed multiple times that he knew the character and milieu of James Bond more than anyone else due to his association with Ian Fleming. The actor said in an interview with BBC’s Pebble Hill that he and Fleming would talk a lot about his stories and he knew mostly about villains in James Bond’s stories. He said that there were real-life inspirations to them,
“As far as I know, there is not one single name given to Bond’s adversaries which is not a real name. I mean, I have met a man called Scaramanga. In fact, there was a man at Eton [College] called Scaramanga, who he disliked intensely. So, he made him the heavy in his book.”
Christopher Lee went on to claim that many of James Bond’s classic villains were people in Fleming’s life that he had met and that they were all given characters in his books. Lee joked that Fleming had to make up some of the women’s names but the villains were all based on real life.
Christopher Lee had also been a part of Winston Churchill’s Special Operations Executive during his time in the Second World War and was reportedly instrumental in defeating Nazi soldiers. He has had a prolific career spanning over sixty years and has led a tremendous and adventurous life. The actor was also the only cast member in the crew of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to have met the author JRR Tolkien (via Gizmodo).
