- Actor Alastair Mackenzie says the scene where his character, Q, teaches Bond how to tie a bow tie was a “key moment”
- He says it was a “very little special relationship moment”
- Mackenzie adds that the stories like that of 007 First light is about “humanity”
The actors behind 007 First light‘s supporting cast have revealed the most memorable moments between their characters and James Bond.
In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at an event adjacent to Summer Game Fest 2026, the cast of IO Interactive’s Bond game, including Alastair Mackenzie, Priyanga Burford, Lennie James and Noémie Nakai, sat down to discuss the filming process and how they brought their characters to life.
First light is a cinematic action-adventure and a prequel origin story for Bond, so there are plenty of moments where he interacts and develops his relationship with the cast.
Mackenzie, who plays Q, remembers the scene in Vietnam where Bond struggles to tie his own bow tie before embarking on his mission, and Q helps him in an almost fatherly way. It’s a lovely moment, and one the actor himself found most memorable.
“I had to teach him how to tie a bow tie, which I mean, I don’t know if you’ve ever tried, but it’s impossible,” Mackenzie said. “It’s a really nice moment between Bond and Q where he presents him with his tie and he doesn’t know what the hell to do so he teaches him how to tie [it]. So that was a little key for me; it’s a very, very little special relationship moment.”
Burford, who plays M, also touched on a “beautiful” moment with reluctant allies Bond and John Greenway early in the story that demonstrated Bond’s character development.
“For me there was one [scene] where Bond is really angry at Greenway and he wants to kick it all down and finish it,” she said. “And there’s something beautiful where it kind of teaches someone how to deal with their emotions and how to regulate and step out of an emotional state that a young person can do; an impulsive who gives in to their anger and looks at the situation from a slightly broader perspective.
“Instead of getting angry, what can this guy teach you? What do you want them to choose and try and think about it that way. And that to me was a good clue to what this dynamic was, and [what] Ms approach was.”
Mackenzie added that these stories are all about “humanity” and something he believes doesn’t show up very often in games.
“These are all human interactions that make this game,” he said. “There’s a kind of visceral nature to it where you connect on a human level, which I don’t think happens in every game, does it? I mean, that’s not something that’s normal in game stories.”
007 First light is out now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is expected to launch later this year.
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