When you think of James Bond villains, you usually have an image in your head of some stern looking bald guy in a chair petting a white Turkish Angora cat, or a short man that throws a razor brimmed bowler hat. That’s not meant to rhyme.
Professor Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author of A Brief History of Time, said that he would love to play the bad guy in a James Bond movie.
Hawking, who suffers from motor neuron disease, which bounds him paralyzed and in a wheelchair, communicates through a computerized speech synthesizer, and joked at the idea that his unique appearance parallels with a Bond villain.
Hawking said in an interview with Wired Magazine:
“My ideal role would be a baddie in a James Bond film. I think the wheelchair and the computer voice would fit the part.”
Hawking is the subject for The Theory of Everything, an Oscar-tipped part-biographical part-love story which features Eddie Redmayne starring as a younger version of
The Theory of Everything, an Oscar-tipped part-biographical part-love story stars Eddie Redmayne as a younger version of Hawking, and tells about the physicist’s life from the 1960s to 1980s.
Hawking made guest appearances before on shows like The Simpsons, Futurama, and Star Trek: The Next Generation (where he plays poker with Data, Albert Einstein, and Sir Isaac Newton.) Hawking would also be referenced in countless TV shows like Dexter’s Lab, The Critic, and Pinky and the Brain.
Despite being diagnosed at the age of 21 with motor neuron disease, Hawking, 72, said his new synthesized voice gave him a chance to connect with others:
“I was able to speak with a speech synthesizer, though it gave me an American accent. I have kept that voice, because it’s now my trademark.”
Hawkings noted that his trademark voice garnered him more attention when teaching:
“Before I lost my voice, it was slurred, so only those close to me could understand, but with the computer voice, I found I could give popular lectures.
“I enjoy communicating science. It is important that the public understands basic science, if they are not to leave vital decisions to others.”
