If James Bond really hits the gas, Daniel Craig won’t be behind the wheel. Rally specialist Mark Higgins is the driver responsible for spectacular stunts. But nobody will be able to see him in the new Bond film “No Time to Die” either.
Silverstone – The silver Aston Martin DB5 is racing towards the curve at around 200 kilometers per hour. The driver brakes sharply and steers to the left.
The tires screech before the engine hums again. One would think that secret agent James Bond was on the run from the henchmen of a super villain. In fact, Mark Higgins sits in the iconic 007 car that thunders down the circuit in Silverstone, England. The British rally veteran has had an exciting part-time job for years: he is James Bond’s stunt driver.
Chase in Matera
For the 25th Bond film “No Time to Die”, which is now coming to cinemas after several corona-related postponements, Higgins again shot spectacular action scenes in Italy. “It was difficult to keep everything to yourself for two years,” says the professional stunt, who has not yet seen the finished film with Daniel Craig in the lead role. “It was a big chase in the beautiful city of Matera – quite a challenge because of the brains, the flooring and the cobblestones we drove on.”
The Aston Martin DB5, whose use in the 1964 classic “Goldfinger” with Sean Connery laid the foundation for a long relationship between the British automaker and James Bond, is particularly challenged this time. “We had five DB5 stunt cars built for the film, which were specially modified for it,” says Higgins. He is showing two examples with striking machine gun dummies behind the headlights in action in Silverstone. The inside is reminiscent of a rally car – Higgins is in his element.
Racing drivers and car enthusiasts
Since “A Quantum of Solace” (2008), the second film starring Daniel Craig, Higgins has been behind the wheel for 007. “A good friend of mine asked me if I was interested in it. At first I thought it was a joke, ”says the 50-year-old. “I had never done a film before. And all of a sudden I’m working on a Bond film! ”On Lake Garda, he first chased an Alfa Romeo through a gravel pit for Bond’s enemies. “This is how my film career began.”
Four years later he drove a Land Rover in “Skyfall” as a double for Miss Moneypenny before he was “promoted” to secret agent Bond in “Specter” (2016), as he says. “I drove the DB 10 in this wonderful chase through Rome,” remembers the Briton, who drove through the Vatican at high speed in the Aston Martin in the middle of the night, then down the stairs to the Tiber and on the run from the killer Hinx raced along the river bank.
When risky stunts are not being performed, Bond star Craig is at the wheel himself. “He is good. We always train with him beforehand, ”says Higgins. “But in the outdoor shots, where you don’t necessarily have to see him, we can do our part in the car.”
What does it take to make Mark Higgins look like James Bond? He laughs. “A miracle or a magician!” The audience never sees the professional driver. His face is replaced by Craig’s on the computer. That is the illusion of the cinema – even the bad damage to the paintwork of the DB5 stunt car is only glued on on closer inspection.
The passionate stuntman, racing driver and car lover does not mind that he does not appear on the big screen. Mark Higgins is clearly enjoying his commitment to James Bond and is looking forward to exhausting the vehicles at the press conference in Silverstone. “The nice thing is that I get to drive these fantastic cars on tracks like this,” he says. “What is even better for me: they are not my own tires. So I can brake as hard as I want. ”At the end of the day, one of the 007 cars actually needs new tires. dpa
