According to a recent Brit report, Rhys Ifans was joining his “Enduring Love” co-star Daniel Craig in “James Bond 23.” Well, you can scratch that. Asked by MTV at Comic-Con yesterday if he was in the film, Ifans joked, “No. I just have a license to kill,” before confirming, “No I’m not,” in the upcoming Bond flick. Bummer. But that’s not all the colorful Welshman was up to in San Diego.
Reports surfaced late last night and early today that Ifans was arrested following an incident before “The Amazing Spider-Man” panel yesterday. According to The Wrap, the actor was cheesed when a member of his entourage didn’t have the proper clearance get into the hall and an irate Ifans wound up pushing a guard to let him through. Ifans participated in the panel but was issued a citizen’s arrest afterward. “He was aggressive and belligerent,” said Lt. Andra Brown. “He was…berating everyone from the security staff to the United States of America.”
“He was cited and released, which is a non-custodial misdemeanor arrest,” elaborated Brown on the charges.
Meanwhile, over at Deadline, Sony issued a statement confirming, “Rhys Ifans was detained by Comic-Con security after a brief incident backstage prior to and immediately following The Amazing Spider-Man panel. Police were notified and a citation was issued to Mr. Ifans who deeply regrets this incident.”
So there you go. Hardly a major controversy, but still adds a bit of color to the geek love-in of Comic-Con.