Schäfer,
Gunnar Schäfer has just been given the all clear from the tax board to make
some alterations to his name.He
may now officially refer himself as Nils Gunnar Bond James Schäfer. Or Bond,
James Bond for short.
If
ever Sweden was to have its own 007, Gunnar Schäfer has long seemed the most
likely candidate.
In 1959 Schäfer's father, who had
been a German secret service agent during the Second World War, disappeared
in mysterious circumstances.
"It was the time of the Cold War.
He went away on holiday and we never heard from him again. Perhaps somebody
wanted him dead. I just don't know," Schäfer told The Local.
The loss of his father at a very
young age is intimately linked to his life-long interest in 007.
In 1965, the eight-year-old Schäfer
settled down to watch 'Goldfinger' with his older brother. The experience
was to alter his young life.
"I began to compare Ian Fleming's
life to that of my father. I read the novels and found all the similarities.
"Like my father, Fleming had also
been a secret agent. He became a sort of mentor to me.
"'Goldfinger' helped me to get on
with my life and it brought me closer to my father," he said.
Gunnar Schäfer's fascination with
all things Bond is evident in every aspect of his life.
For example, his mobile phone
number ends with the digits 007.
One of his cars, the original BMW
used in 'Goldeneye', is registered 007 JB.
And just like Ian Fleming's
Jamaican estate, Schäfer's house in Kalmar is called 'Goldeneye'.
He
also dresses like Bond. At least once a week he puts on his dinner jacket
and sits down to watch a 007 classic.
"Sometimes I'll drink a dry martini.
But usually I pour myself a glass of Bollinger champagne, which was Albert
Broccoli's favourite drink and also something Bond is quite fond of," said
Schäfer.
When
he's not being Bond, Gunnar Schäfer runs a car parts business in Nybro. It
was here that he first began displaying some of the memorabilia for the
world's first 007 museum.
"It was in 2002, when 'Die Another
Day' was about to come out. I set aside a small space in my shop".
The embryonic museum was later
moved to a much larger premises. Spread over 350 square metres of exhibition
space, the museum now houses a cinema, games consoles and a casino, as well
as an impressive array of 007 artifacts ranging from cars to specially
designed glasses.
But what about 007's famed
collection of short-term girlfriends? Does Schäfer share his hero's handy
knack of proving irresistible to the opposite sex?
"Yes and no," he laughed.
"They are often very curious, even
the ones who don't like 007.
"After they meet me and I tell them
the story about my father they usually end up liking Bond," he said.