Jaws had his teeth, Oddjob had his hat, and now Dave Bautista's Mr. Hinx will enter the James Bond henchman hall of fame with his own unique gimmick. Bond had better be careful though, because if he doesn't stay sharp, he'll get nailed by Hinx's manicured mitts.
During a chat with Vanity Fair, Bautista waxed nostalgic about just what he felt makes the perfect henchman for the James Bond franchise. In particular, it all comes down to that one certain thing that separates them from any old hired muscle, and he's narrowed it down to the following factor:
The silent henchmen from Bond's past, they all have their special talent. And Hinx has his nails, his thumbnails are basically razor blades.
Not much had been revealed about Bautista's Hinx up until this point, but with his remarks in this interview, we can see exactly how some are theorizing that Spectre may be a signal that the old days are here again when it comes to the adventures of 007. Throughout the older run of the series, your standard Bond villain had their own companion with at least one discernible "talent" in their arsenal. Sometimes it would be something as awesome as Jaws or Oddjob's means of destruction, though every now and then, the need for a gimmick would backfire – especially when the gimmick wasn't all that threatening.
Case in point: Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, the assassin duo from Diamonds Are Forever. While their means of dispatching enemy personnel were, at best, conventional, their gimmick of wisecracks after each casualty was something that wore thin pretty quickly. Anyone can make a quip after pulling a trigger, but as Bond himself has shown us – some are better equipped than others to make it look good. Though in the case of Dave Bautista, he doesn't have to worry about Hinx falling into the category of failed henchmen, as he's already naturally intimidating.
With his natural acting instincts as sharp as his character's weapon of choice, Bautista knows he can come across as a force to be reckoned with if he doesn't get to talking too much. Though he also knows that once you get to be more familiar with him, that intimidation factor drops to more manageable levels. It's this fact that makes him happy that his character is a silent but deadly type, much like the old school henchmen that he admired when he was a kid. You can watch the rest of Dave Bautista's interview with Vanity Fair, as well as a segment featuring Christoph Waltz, below:
Spectre is currently showing in advanced screenings, with tomorrow marking its complete roll out in the U.S.
