Is James Bond a Psychopath? w/Psychiatrist Stephen McWilliams

Cracking the Code of Spy Movies!

James Bond is a Psychopath?

Is James Bond a psychopath? Well, despite the obvious fact that he is a fictional character who has had many authors, actors, and screenwriters involved in defining this character, just . . . maybe!

In this episode, Dan and Tom bring in Dr. Stephen McWilliams, author of the book “Psychopath? Why We Are Charmed by the Anti-Hero” to discuss this topic.

We’re getting deep into the mind of James Bond and with Stephen’s help, we define what a psychopath really is, then examine the known mind of James Bond to determine if he can be considered a psychopath. (Hint, Bond doesn’t score 100 on the test). We use the famed professor, Robert D. Hare’s psychology checklist as our driver for the analysis. Hare’s checklist includes breakdowns of the following categories: Interpersonal Traits, Affective Traits, Lifestyle Traits, and Anti-Social traits.

How many of those apply to the agent with the OO designation we know as James Bond? Can you be a spy with a license to kill without some psychopathic traits? Can you be a great spy and still be a psychopath? Listen to find out.

Stephen is a Consultant Psychiatrist at Saint John of God Hospital, Dublin, and an Associate Clinical Professor at the School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, University College Dublin.

In addition to talking about James Bond, McWilliams’s book talks about other fictional characters such as Hannibal Lecter, Frank Underwood, Amy Elliott Dunne, and more. He has also authored the book “Fiction & Physicians – Medicine through the Eyes of Writers”.

Tell us what you think

So, before listening to this episode, do you think James Bond was a psychopath? After, listening, did your opinion change?

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