The name is Higgins, Mark Higgins. While you may have never have heard of him, you’ve very likely to have been stunned in amazement by his work.

That’s because he’s the man that makes James Bond look good behind the wheel. That’s right he’s been Daniel Craig’s stunt driving double in the past three Bond movies.

Higgins is in Australia for the release of the latest Bond film Spectre, on Blu-Ray and we caught up with the British WRC racer-come-stunt driver to talk 007, what he had for breakfast, destroying cars and driving in drag.

RB: For most of us just being a race driver is a dream, but you’ve gone one better. Pardon the pun, but how did you make the jump from race to stunt driver?

MH: I wanted to be a rally driver, that was my passion as a kid. Then a friend mine called Ben Collins – better known as the former Stig on Top Gear - was working on Quantum of Solace and they were basically after a rally driver to do the scene down the gravel quarry, so he asked me if I’d be interested and I thought about it for half a second and said yeah! And that was basically how we go involved in my first ever film – so straight in at the big time really.

RB: What do stunt drivers eat for breakfast?

MH: Just adrenaline.

RB: So no milk with that?

MH: Dry adrenaline – we don’t have milk. Nah, whatever we can get our hands on because we’re travelling all over the place – that’s the only downside to this job you’re never really at home. But when you’re working on the films you try to be as healthy as possible but the rest of the time you’re stuck on an aeroplane.

RB: Most drivers struggle just to parallel park, but what’s the most difficult stunt you’ve had to pull off in the Bond films?

MH: It’s quite difficult to pinpoint one, because something might look quite dangerous and difficult but it’s the basic stuff that can be quite challenging.  In Rome [while filming Spectre] for example, going sideways through the Vatican at a hundred miles an hour into a very narrow exit is quite difficult. 

There’s a reversing scene at the very start of the chase and you can’t see anything out the back of the car. But we had very dangerous things in Skyfall where the VW Beetles were chucked off the rail car when I was driving the Defender as Moneypenny, and that’s was a bit of challenge because you didn’t know which way the car was going to go.

RB: So you were also Moneypenny’s stunt driver? What’s it like to do stunts in drag?

MH: It’s different. I also played Letty in Fast and Furious. I don’t know why I keep getting these female parts? I get a bit of ribbing from the guys, but I’m used to it. It’s just Mark dressing up again.

RB: How far do you have to go? Do they just dress you as a woman to the waist?

MH: Yeah, just to the waist really – but they do quite a good job which is quite interesting. It’s not a good look.

RB: You obviously have to play Daniel Craig as well – how far do they go in making you look like Bond?

MH: It’s probably a lot harder to get me to look like Daniel than for the other part. Nah, I’m wearing the Tom Ford suit for example. I wear the watch – they even set the time correctly on the watch – there’s that much detail. The ring he wears in Spectre. My hair is not massively dissimilar but we sometimes use wigs so quite a lot of detail.

Jaguar C-X75 and Aston Martin DB10 in the chase scene from Spectre. Behind the scenes shooting the chase scene from Spectre. Aston Martin DB10 during the chase scene from Spectre. Behind the scenes shooting the chase scene from Spectre.

RB: What’s it like to be let loose on the streets of Rome?

MH: To know that that road was closed off just for you, especially the likes of the Vatican it was quite a surreal experience knowing that the Pope was in. And the noise! You can imagine a V8 at 5AM in the morning was quite special having two cars going up and down steps. I even had a flamethrower which worked – so I had all the buttons you dream of as a kid. I have to stop singing the song to myself…

RB: You’ve driven the DB5 – and we would all love to drive one. So what's it like to drive?

MH: It’s just a very special thing. I drove it very briefly in Skyfall and I did a feature for Top Gear where I drove all the Bond cars in Cannes, France – it’s just such an iconic and amazing car. I think the DB5 is just beautiful and the value and rareness again makes it very special.

RB: What sort of special mods go into the stunt cars?

MH: Well on Spectre where we had eight DB10s, we had two pod cars which are the cars that I drive from the roof so it allows Daniel to deliver his lines inside – that’s a really weird thing. 

We then have two stunt cars which have a hydraulic handbrake, roll cage, competition seats and a rally type suspension and that sort of thing, but the car is based very much on the Vantage and the characteristics of the car are very similar to the Vantage. 

The DB10 is wider and when we did the rehearsals we used a widened Vantage car to simulate what it would be like. The car was so reliable – we had no issues with it, every time we go to the bottom of the flight of steps thinking it was finished we’d fire it up and go again in another car. Every car did come back.

RB: How many cars were destroyed in Spectre?

MH: Every car did come back – there were a few little scratches here, but unless it was planned to crash it all went to plan. There was a car that went into the river at the end but they got that out pretty quickly – it’s worth 2.2 million pounds?

RB: What’s the most special car you’ve ever crashed?

MH: The only time it didn’t happen on purpose was in rallying. Some of the rally cars we drive are worth half a million pounds. When I rolled off a hill in Greece and you know the rear spoiler costs about 30,000 pounds that’s not great because you’ve got to go back and tell your boss. 

But in the film industry it’s never an issue – you think of the car as a prop. Thankfully I haven’t crashed any of the cars I shouldn’t have crashed.

RB: We’ve seen some ridiculous Bond stunts in the past. There was the loop the loop in the AMC Hornet in The Man With the Golden Gun and there was the submarine Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me. Now Bond movies have become a bit more sophisticated and so have the stunts, but do you think we’ll see a return to the novelty stunt again? Or have we moved on from those types of antics?

MH: I think everyone is looking to do the best job they can do now – which is doing it for real. I think we’ve gone away from CGI because it’s so easy to spot. My stunt coordinator Gary Powell in particular, given a free rein he’d have us doing the most outrageous things possible in a car, but often things are toned down by the directors. They know what they want in a movie. So I think you’re going to see more and more wacky real and dangerous stunts done in the future because we have good protection in the cars, we know a lot more about things that what we did 20-30 years ago and we’re able to push the envelope a little bit further.

RB: What do you have in the garage at home?

MH: I’ve got a couple of Porsches – rally cars. I’ve got my first works rally car which is actually a Vauxhall Nova.

RB: But what do you drive down the shops in?

MH: My car that I run around most of the time in is a BMW.

RB: Let me guess … a 3 Series.

MH: It is a 3 Series – 335d. I prefer the diesel. I’m very practical on the road and keep my license intact. But it has about 400hp, so it’s a bit special.

RB: What’s your favourite Bond movie?

MH: That’s a big question. I did enjoy Casino Royale.

RB: And your favourite Bond?

MH: I loved Sean Connery growing up as a kid, but I think Daniel for now is the perfect Bond. I hope he comes back to do another one.

RB: Have you ever had to call on your stunt driving skills, like when you’re running late for an appointment or job interview?

MH: No, thankfully. I haven’t had to drive down any steps or jump over any bridges and I wouldn’t do that in my own car anyway.

RB: And what are you driving in Australia while you’re here?

MH: I’m being driven around thankfully.

RB: And what type of vehicle are they chauffeuring you around in?

MH: It’s an Aston Martin. 

RB: Do you sit in the back or the front?

MH: In the front most of the time.

RB: What kind of Aston?

MH: Just a DB9.

RB: Just a DB9?

RB: And what’s your favourite thing about the DB9?

MH: I think the noise the car makes and the styling of it – there’s many sports cars out there but there’s certain kudos with the Aston.

RB: So do you ever feel frustrated with the chauffeur’s driving. Do you ever just want to show them how it’s done?

MH: No, he’s a good driver. I’m very happy in the passenger seat. I don’t particularly enjoy driving on the roads anyway, so it suits me fine.

RB: It’s dangerous out there isn’t it?

MH: It’s a dangerous world, you’ve gotta be careful.

007's Latest Mission Available on Blu-ray & DVD on Wednesday 9 March

Were you surprised to hear it isn't really Daniel Craig behind the wheel during the big stunts? Tell us what you think in the comments below.