20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About James Bond

7. Fleming Created Bond As A "Dull, Uninteresting Man"

Part of Bond's everlasting popularity, especially amongst men, is wish-fulfilment. Many a man over the years has wished that they were Bond - a cold assassin he may be but, unlike many other popular heroes, he definitely has a glamorous lifestyle. It's somewhat shocking to find out then that Ian Fleming created him as a "dull, uninteresting man." In Fleming's eye, Bond was "a blunt instrument" to whom "things happened." Likewise, James Bond was thought by Fleming to be "the dullest name had ever heard." It's hard for us to see the name James Bond as dull, as it conjures the image of a suave and stylish man of mystery, but the name comes from a figure far from the familiar James Bond; Fleming took it from the author of a birdwatching book he had on his shelf. Extra fact: In Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan goes undercover as an ornithologist (an expert on birds), mirroring the real James Bond.