Dusko Popov: The spy who inspired James Bond
Duško Popov was the Allied double agent said to have inspired James Bond. Nicolas Cage plays him in the upcoming spy film Fortitude. Here’s his story.
Image: Duško Popov | Public Domain / Background: Shutterstock.com
James Bond is undoubtedly the world’s most famous fictional spy. However, when novelist Ian Fleming originally created the character of Bond, did he base him on any particular real-life person? It’s a question that has sprung to many people’s minds, especially given Fleming’s own background as a British intelligence officer during World War II.
The now-legendary 007 is rumoured to have been modelled on various people, from Fleming himself to his step-cousin, the late actor Christopher Lee. A much bigger inspiration was likely the Serbian operative Dušan ‘Duško’ Popov, played by Nicolas Cage in the upcoming spy film, Fortitude.
As far as the Nazis were concerned, Duško Popov was one of their most reliable spies in the field. Unbeknownst to them, he was working as a double agent for the British. Sky HISTORY’s World War II with Tom Hanks provides insights into the Allies’ wartime deception operations, but how did Duško play his part?
From blessed child to political rebel
Duško Popov was born on 10th July 1912 in what is now the Serbian settlement of Titel (back then, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). The young Duško grew up in a happy, well-off family. As a teenager, he was well-versed in multiple languages, including Italian, German and French, and attended prestigious schools across Europe.
Not that Duško was entirely the teacher’s pet. On the contrary, he once snapped a cane to prevent the teacher punishing him with it. This rebellious streak would follow him into his student years at the University of Freiburg in Germany, where he spoke out against the nascent Nazi regime. As a result, he was arrested and temporarily imprisoned by the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo.
In early 1940, shortly after the war broke out, Duško Popov got shock news from his old university pal Johnny Jebsen. Despite previously expressing hatred for the Nazis, this German shipping magnate’s son had joined his country’s military intelligence service, the Abwehr. There was a method to his madness. He was there to not only avoid getting conscripted into the Wehrmacht but also undermine the Nazi regime from within. Even Duško saw the appeal…
Duško Popov embraces the James Bond lifestyle
Before long, Popov and Jebsen were both secretly working for the British. To the world, Duško Popov was just a high-flying businessman regularly setting off on foreign trips to develop his corporate connections. To the Germans, this image was meant to be little more than cover for Popov’s meet-ups abroad with Abwehr contacts.
These undercover exchanges would often take place in Portugal, a neutral country in the war. This made it a safe haven for espionage activity from both sides – the Axis and the Allies. There, Popov met Ian Fleming, who allegedly witnessed him nearly blowing thousands of dollars on an ill-advised bet at the Estoril Casino. This incident was said to inspire a similar scene in Fleming’s first Bond novel, Casino Royale.
Popov’s similarities to Bond don’t stop there. Popov also had a (golden)eye for the ladies, including the French actress Simone Simon. Though Popov’s cover was nearly blown multiple times, he was rarely left shaken or stirred. Rather, he proved adept at talking his way out of trouble, even when German authorities (briefly) suspected him of disloyalty.
Can we really sort fact from fiction?
Popov’s womanising didn’t go down well with everyone. After being given German instructions to visit the United States and investigate defences at Pearl Harbor, he sought to hand this intelligence to the FBI. However, the agency’s then-director J. Edgar Hoover distrusted Popov and turned a blind eye to the report. Germany’s Axis partner Japan attacked Pearl Harbor months later. But historians disagree on how clear a warning Popov’s intelligence was.
Popov was also a key player in Operation Fortitude, the disinformation campaign aimed at misleading the Germans about Allied plans to invade Nazi-occupied France. Popov fed the Germans fake intelligence suggesting that the Allies were targeting Calais. The Germans diligently built up defences there, only to be caught off-guard when Allied forces landed in Normandy instead.
This surprise element of the D-Day landings helped to ensure Nazi Germany’s eventual defeat in the war. Nonetheless, Duško Popov kept quiet about his wartime espionage activities until sensitive government documents from the era were finally declassified in the 1970s. Popov passed away on 18th August 1981 at the age of 69, but remains immortalised as perhaps the closest thing to a real-life James Bond.
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