Professor Stephen Hawking has said he would love to play the bad guy in a James Bond movie. The world famous theoretical physicist joked that his unique appearance would make him perfect for the role of a villain in a new interview with Wired Magazine. “My ideal role would be a baddie in a James Bond film,” he said. “I think the wheelchair and the computer voice would fit the part.”

Hawking is currently the subject of Oscar-tipped biopic The Theory of Everything, featuring Eddie Redmayne as his younger self in a film about the physicist’s life from the 1960s to the 1980s. He has also appeared on The Simpsons and in an episode of Star Trek, The Next Generation, Descent Part One, in which he is shown playing chess with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.



The Theory of Everything: watch the trailer for the Stephen Hawking biopic - video Guardian

The A Brief History of Time author, who is almost completely paralysed, said his trademark computerised voice had given him the chance to connect with others after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21. “I was able to speak with a speech synthesiser, though it gave me an American accent. I have kept that voice, because it’s now my trademark,” he told Wire.

“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.”

The full interview with Hawking, 72, is in the January issue of Wired magazine, out on 4 December.