Wanted to make Safin unsettling: Rami Malek on James Bond villain

“What I really wanted from Safin was to make him unsettling… Thinking of himself as being heroic... Safin is a formidable adversary. James Bond has to adapt to him,” Malek told Entertainment Weekly. Talking about the character Fukunaga said, “What he wants and what he's willing to do makes him a very frightening character, both personally to Bond, but also on a global level." “Fleabag” creator-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge is on board as a co-writer on the film and Malek said she had a significant role in shaping up Safin.

“She had quite an impact on what I was doing. I’d have long phone conversations with her, giving her context as to what we were essentially looking for in the scenes, and she would turn things over incredibly quickly. "We know her as a very witty and funny writer, but she’s got a knack for drama and tension as well," he said. “No Time to Die”, scheduled to hit the theatres in November, also features actors Lashana Lynch, Lea Seydoux, Jeffrey Wright, Rory Kinnear, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Christoph Waltz, Ana de Armas, Billy Magnussen, Dali Benssalah, and David Dencik.