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It’s been over a year since The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare exploded onto screens, and honestly, it still feels like one of Henry Cavill’s most coincidental 007-worthy moments to date. Directed by Guy Ritchie, this 2024 war-action flick wasn’t just another secret mission story. It was practically Bond’s family tree.
Cavill, who has been a fan-favorite contender to play 007 after Daniel Craig, portrayed Gus March-Phillipps, the real-life British special forces legend who didn’t just fight Nazis, he may have helped create James Bond. And no, that’s not just fan theory stuff. Cavill himself pointed out the link.
What Did Henry Cavill Say About The Connection Between The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare & James Bond?
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Cavill said, “Ian Fleming was part of this Special Operations Executive. He wrote James Bond, and apparently based James Bond upon Gus March-Phillipps, the guy who I play.”
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Fleming, who worked in British Naval Intelligence, drew inspiration from the daring missions of this WWII commando. In many ways, Henry Cavill wasn’t just playing a war hero. He was channeling the guy who gave us the most iconic spy in pop culture history.
A Real-Life War Hero With A Secret Fiction Dream
What makes the story even more unreal is the bit Cavill shared about March-Phillipps’s own literary plans. According to Cavill, March-Phillipps was working on a series of spy novels before his life was cut short during the war.
“It’s my understanding, controversially, that my character, Gus March-Phillipps, in real life, wrote a novel with a spy character based upon his various adventures,” Cavill said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “But he died during World War II and so he never got to continue writing his books. Had he survived, maybe he would have beaten Ian Fleming to the punch. Maybe.”
That’s the kind of “what if” that belongs in a movie itself. A real spy, writing spy fiction, before Bond was even a name on paper. Had history gone differently, we might’ve grown up with Gus instead of James Bond.
Henry Cavill’s Role Brought James Bond’s Origins To Life
Looking back, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was Cavill’s third time diving into the spy game. Before this one, he’d already played a smooth, unflappable agent in 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and again in the 2024 meta-spy adventure Argylle. That’s three roles, all loaded with Bond DNA, cool under pressure, dangerous in a suit, and just the right amount of charm.
And of course, fans haven’t forgotten that Cavill came this close to being Bond for real. Back in 2005, during casting for Casino Royale, Henry Cavill auditioned to play 007. According to director Martin Campbell in an interview with Express UK, Cavill had it all.
“He looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous. And look, if Daniel didn’t exist Henry would have made an excellent Bond. He looked terrific, he was in great physical shape… very handsome, very chiselled. He just looked a little young at that time back then,” the director recalled.
As of today, the next Bond is still anyone’s guess. But Henry Cavill’s performance in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare didn’t just nod to Bond, it practically stared MI6 in the face. If nothing else, it gave fans the next best thing: a real man who inspired the myth, played by the man who still might become him.
For more such stories, check out Hollywood News
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