James Bond's resident gadget expert Q might be a serious character, but Ben Whishaw will be the first to admit that the role is not exactly Hamlet.
The actor, who reprises his role in Spectre after first playing the character in Skyfall, has revealed his thoughts on why smaller roles are important.
"Not everything can be Hamlet and you wouldn't want everything to be Hamlet", the actor told The Independent, adding that the simple fact of being in a Bond movie makes up for the smaller role.
"It's hard not to enjoy the excitement that it generates in people. Nothing else I've done has generated that much anticipation.
"And it's really been lovely because it's unusual to return to work with the same group of people on a different film."
His comments follow on from his appearance in another small role in Suffragette - a movie whose writer Abi Morgan revealed that many male actors turned down roles in because they weren't substantial enough.
"When we came to cast this film it was very difficult, because we kept getting calls from agents saying the male parts weren't big enough," Morgan said.
"So it's a huge tribute to Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw, Samuel West and Finbar Lynch that they took on these parts."
While Whishaw may be happy enough to play Q for now, it looks like Daniel Craig should watch out as the actor added that he thinks he'd make a pretty good Bond himself.
"I think I could actually make quite a good spy," he said. "I wouldn't want to be one, but I think I possibly could."
Spectre is released in the UK today (October 26) and in the US on November 6.
Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
