Ralph Fiennes told almost nobody about taking over 'M' role

When Ralph Fiennes signed up to appear in "Skyfall" as 'Mallory', not a lot of information was given out about his character. And that's exactly how the actor wanted it, to help keep his ascension to the role of M as secret as possible.

Talking to the Irish Times, Fiennes explained that he didn't tell anyone about the promotion his character would see at the end of the film.

"I think I told virtually nobody apart from my agent and my publicist,” he says. “Some people said, ‘Who are you playing?’ They would be aggressively guessing, and I would smile and look back at them. But I never explicitly told anybody."

Whilst on the subject of Bond, Fiennes also mentioned that he was under consideration for the lead role before Pierce Brosnan was cast.

"There was actually a conversation much earlier on," he says cautiously. "About 20 years ago there was a sort of tentative conversation with Barbara. I did meet Cubby Broccoli. I don’t . . . It didn’t . . . Erm . . . Bygones are bygones. It wasn’t a path I chose then to pursue. I don’t think I would have been a very good Bond. Daniel Craig is fantastic."

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