Rally champion turned Hollywood stunt driver Mark Higgins has described working as Daniel Craig’s driving double in the latest James Bond film No Time To Die as “very special”.

Higgins, from Abermule, near Newtown, was behind the wheel of the iconic Aston Martin DB5 during thrilling chase scenes in Italy, and the Toyota Land Cruiser in Norway and Scotland – which took months to film.

“The film is fantastic,” he said.

“I know I’m biased but I think it’s the best Bond film I’ve seen.

“I went to Rome for the premiere. We took the car over and we did some doughnuts outside the red carpet. That was a great experience.”

The three-time British Rally champion and more recently British rally cross champion has worked on four of the most recent Bond films with Chester-born Daniel Craig, who has “spoken fondly of mid Wales” and his local connections to the area.

County Times: Daniel CraigDaniel Craig

Following a successful rallying career spanning 30 years, Higgins, who has also worked on Top Gear, was approached to work as a stunt driver for Quantum of Solace and then for the Land Rover chase in Skyfall.

This progressed to the DB10 as Daniel Craig’s driving double in Spectre.

Since then, Mark has worked on films such as Star Wars, Fast and Furious, Avengers Age of Ultron, Jurassic World and Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.

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Higgins has recently finished filming the new Batman film starring Robert Pattinson and has worked closely with Colin Farrell. “It’s funny how I’ve fallen into the big films. I was very fortunate to get started with Bond and it just escalated from there,” he said.

“Growing up as a kid I remember watching Moonraker with my Dad and to think you’d be in a film for one is crazy. To actually drive the Bond cars, you do pinch yourself sometimes.

 

“There’s always something very special about Bond. The Bond films are the ones I think everybody wants to be in.

“The Bond franchise is very much a family, a team effort with some fantastic people.

“In Matera, Italy where we were filming for seven weeks there were several challenges and one was the grip level on the cobbled roads.

"To combat this our stunt co-ordinator Lee Morrison came up with an idea to use Coca-Cola on the road.

County Times: Mark Higgins driving an Aston Martin DB5. Photo Max Earey Mark Higgins driving an Aston Martin DB5. Photo Max Earey

“Surprisingly, after being sprayed on the roads in the morning and left to dry, this increased the grip levels double fold and enabled us to carry good speed rather than using any computer generated images in the any of the chase.

“In total, we spent three months filming and rehearsing the two main car scenes which involve many other drivers and vehicles.

"The result is 10 minutes in the finished movie. There is always many great scenes we do that are not used in the final edit. I have previously worked on a complete chase scene in other films for up to a month to find it’s not even used which can be very disappointing.”

County Times: NO SALES ONE USE ONLY Undated handout still from video issued by Danjaq, LLC/MGM from the new James Bond film No Time To Die.NO SALES ONE USE ONLY Undated handout still from video issued by Danjaq, LLC/MGM from the new James Bond film No Time To Die.

Higgins has built his successful career with his driving skills from rallying around the world to becoming a leading stunt driver starring in some of Hollywood’s most iconic films.

“It would be nice to continue in the years to come if it’s possible. It all depends on what happens and who Bond is.

“I still miss my rallying competitions but I’ve been very lucky. It’s been a great career and there are a few years left in me yet.”