James Hart, who changed his surname from Bond, and Gunnar Schäfter, who changed his name to James Bond: The documentary 'Our Name is Bond' sheds light on how sharing a name with the world's most famous spy has defined their lives. — Photo: Matthew Bauer/The Other Fellow Ltd/Journeyman Pictures/dpa
Three years since the release of the last James Bond movie, No Time To Die, and Daniel Craig's farewell to the role of the world’s most illustrious secret agent, rumours about possible successors have swirled.
British actor, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was the most recent hot candidate. And yet no one has been confirmed.
While fans of the spy franchise are beginning to lose patience, the hiatus is a welcome relief to the world's individuals named James Bond.
Yes, they exist, and for some, bearing 007's name has proved a curse – as explored by a new documentary, Our Name Is Bond.
"I had to filter through a lot of fake James Bonds to find the real ones," director Matthew Bauer told dpa. The Australian filmmaker scoured Facebook for people to reflect as diverse a Bond group as possible.
"There were all these articles saying the next (cinematic) James Bond is black and the James Bond is a woman and the next James Bond will be a homosexual. So it was important for us to have a (real-life) black James Bond because obviously they would tend to be different from most people's image of James Bond."
In the documentary 'Our Name Is Bond', one real-life James Bond from Indiana talks about the problems you can get into as a black man if you don't have your ID with you at a police checkpoint and are asked for your name. — Photo: Matthew Bauer/The Other Fellow Ltd/Journeyman Pictures/dpa
Curse and blessing of name
All real-life Bonds have one thing in common: They put up with constant “shaken, not stirred” jokes. They are also frustrated by people hoping that they will introduce themselves as "Bond, James Bond". The low-point for most is whenever a new 007 film is released in cinemas.
One James Bond, an actor in New York, is exasperated by friends and relatives, who feel compelled to send him messages about it, as if the hype surrounding the movies weren't bad enough.
"They all go through essentially the same experience," says Bauer - at least for the most part. Imagine what happens when you're a black man called James Bond, stopped by police in the US without your ID and have to tell the cops what your real name is.
This James Bond from New York is fed up with the 007 hype. — Photo: Matthew Bauer,/The Other Fellow Ltd/Journeyman Pictures/dpa
One story about a curious mix-up in a dramatic criminal case is particularly entertaining.
However, there are positive aspects for some Bonds. "Mostly, they say it's a blessing and a curse. Most of them lost their virginity in a story that involves their name," Bauer says. "That’s an integral part of every one of their life experiences and they generally met their wife through a story involving James Bond."
A Swede called Gunnar Bond James
While one man even changed his name out of pure desperation, others have taken on the name willingly. Gunnar Schäfer, a Swedish national, has been named Gunnar Bond James Schäfer since 2007 - the year is no coincidence.
"It's very interesting to see the reaction," he tells dpa. Apart from being a huge 007 fan, his real motivation is to honour his father.
During World War II, Schäfer senior served in the German navy before fleeing to Sweden, where he became a Swedish citizen and started a family. When Schäfer was two years old, his father failed to return home from a trip, leaving him traumatised. To this day, he suspects that his father was a secret agent.
In the documentary 'Our Name Is Bond', Gunnar Bond James Schäfer explains why he changed his name and why he's searching for clues about his father, who disappeared without a trace 60 years ago. — Photo: Rene Pannevis/The Other Fellow Ltd/Journeyman Pictures/dpa
Schäfer found solace in Ian Fleming's Bond novels and fantasised that his father was like 007. No one had any answers. "I didn't know anything," he says, "I asked my mother many times, but she didn't want to talk about it."
He now runs the James Bond Museum in the southern Swedish town of Nybro and idolizes fictional secret agent. However, he remains on a real-life mission to uncover his father’s fate.
Schäfer is now pinning his hopes on the release of Our Name Is Bond for clues. Viewers in Bavaria might see a possible connection or perhaps know of a German named Schäfer who lived through World War II and spoke of a life in Sweden. Gunnar Bond James Schäfer can be contacted through his museum.
In his film 'Our Man Is Bond', director Matthew Bauer explores how being called James Bond in real life can be both a curse and a blessing. — Photo: Jamie Touché/The Other Fellow Ltd/Journeyman Pictures/dpa
Fun and even exciting to watch
Director Bauer, himself an avid 007 fan, has skilfully interwoven a series of fascinating stories, making Our Name Is Bond both entertaining and, at times, genuinely exciting to watch. You don't have to be a James Bond fan to find the documentary interesting.
Taking part has proven worthwhile for the real James Bonds, as they are now sharing their experiences with fellow sufferers in a WhatsApp group.
Some even meet up in person. Most of them share a common disinterest in which actor will be the next 007 and, best of all, no-one ever says "shaken, not stirred." – dpa
