Who should/could be a Bond actor?

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  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    Didn't Wishaw recently suggest Evans for Bond?
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    I think for Evans it really is more the age than his sexuality that is keeping him away fom the role. If there were another incident like the Sony leak and it comes out that anyone involved in the decision said "He can't be Bond because he is gay" it would be a sure-fire career-ender. My thinking is closer to @Jimjambond in that I think if anything, casting a gay actor while keeping the character straight (well, there is that scene in Skyfall...) is almost a compromise that signals towards more inclusion without actually changing anything in the text itself.


    I saw The Gentlemen yesterday and have been thinking about Henry Golding, since (Aside: I would take any of Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam, Hugh Grant, Jeremy Strong, Tom Wu, Samuel West, Eddie Marsan or Bugzy Malone in a Bond film, but none of them as Bond). Apart from the fashion, this isn't a particularly Bondy role and he hasn't completely blown me away, but here and in Crazy Rich Asians he has an undeniable charm and presence about him, to a point where he might be too good looking for a secret agent.
    What I was specifically thinking about were the various discussions we had on here about some actors looking to young. I had always kind of dismissed that, but seeing him at 34 (30 when Crazy Rich Asians was shot, 31 in The Gentlemen) he looks more mature than say a Nic Hoult, who is only two years younger than him or James Norton, who is actually older than him.
    And he is clean-shaven most of the time ;)
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited December 2021 Posts: 16,420
    I actually was hoping to be a bit more impressed by him in The Gentlemen than I was, but I haven't seen Crazy Rich Asians.

    I guess he's better in it than Charlie Hummam, who isn't convincing at all as a hard man and just generally comes across as a blank. And you've got Hugh Grant and McConaughey being proper stars in it.
  • Posts: 6,709
    Wouldn't it be just incredible if EON had the b***s to do an adult, fully fledged Bond film, with him at his prime, doing his thing with panache and know how, with Luke Evans in the role, with no soap opera betrayal rogue drama, and just style and quality fun, a beautifully written (by different writers, not bloody P&W) fun espionage thriller. Old school, centred in one exotic location to contrast with London. Do it with a splashy big brass song, instead of emo ballads. And make it spot on the two hours mark, will ya? We don't need an epic, we need to have epic fun, epic style, an epic portrait of the canonical James Bond we loved for decades. That's what's epic. Not a bloated three hour retcon subversive drama (again).

    But I guess that's not fashionable anymore.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited December 2021 Posts: 16,420
    Well I don't think we have to play the martyr, we're allowed to hope for some things. Some of those bits I'd like, some I'm less bothered about. I quite like a Bond film to be in around three locations (one for the PTS, one for the first act, then move to one for the main chunk of the film), I quite like the ideas P&W come up with and although there are better writers in the world, I haven't really seen much in the way of considered explanations as to why they're so terrible. And betrayal has long been a pretty common element of spy dramas. I like a big song, and we got one of those two films ago and it went to no.1 and won an Oscar, so pretending they're out of fashion like the world is against us seems contrary to the evidence.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    Luke Evans is a great actor and would make a fantastic Bond. He's one of few that tick all the boxes
  • He's the opposite of a ladies man. Get thinking straight.
  • Posts: 6,709
    He has to play a ladies man, not be one. It’s called acting.
  • It wouldn't be authentic. I think the role requires something above the acting. To bring your own personality as they say
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,420
    None of the men who have played Bond so far have been actual spies; they all managed pretty well despite that I think.
  • He should have been in one of the Craig movies as an MI6 Agent. Imagine a team-up scene.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,217
    Univex wrote: »
    He has to play a ladies man, not be one. It’s called acting.

    But what’s interesting is that, from the handicap, to endless ethnicities, sexual identities and many others, more and more various groups are expressing “ outrage “ when someone is cast who isn’t, in real life, the character they’re portrayed.

    This isn’t limited to gay and straight, but within that context there’s often a bit of hypocrisy going on; within the gay community there would be those who would be “ outraged “ if , because of his sexuality, a gay actor was not cast as Bond, but, many of those same people would be “ outraged “ if a straight actor were to be cast in a gay roll.

  • If it were up to me I would cast Dan Stevens.
    Great actor who has a varied portfolio of roles. He is not a big name star either which I believe is the way the casting process should take into account. Daniel Craig was not a household name until he became James Bond. He performed alongside household names in some renowned movies before but Bond was what elevated him to stardom. James Bond is the blockbuster attraction. That character is uniquely coveted for that reason.
  • Posts: 16,169
    cwl007 wrote: »
    Benny wrote: »
    263097522_242768037948181_6508289543761748031_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=LiIbOuTwkK4AX-TJb0s&_nc_ht=scontent.fcxh3-1.fna&oh=c0bed5a9461ae636e223c17db4fdbf2d&oe=61AF276E

    Too old now probably, but I'll still post every picture that confirms Luke Evans would have made an awesome Bond.

    Have to agree, he would be a great Bond I feel. Although he's coming up 43 it's possible he could do a 3 film stint. Sir Rog was 45 when he took on the role in LALD.

    +1
    43 is not too old. 43 IS NOT TOO OLD. NOT NOT NOT. Not over the hill, I won't accept it. A 43 year can and SHOULD still play Bond.
    (BTW I'm 43 years old!😅)

    Couldn't agree more. Luke Evans looks great for the part, IMO. Also made an excellent Dracula. I'd much rather see a Bond who has some mileage in his facial features rather than a young kid who looks like he probably doesn't even know who Roger Moore was.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited December 2021 Posts: 7,551
    talos7 wrote: »
    Univex wrote: »
    He has to play a ladies man, not be one. It’s called acting.

    But what’s interesting is that, from the handicap, to endless ethnicities, sexual identities and many others, more and more various groups are expressing “ outrage “ when someone is cast who isn’t, in real life, the character they’re portrayed.

    This isn’t limited to gay and straight, but within that context there’s often a bit of hypocrisy going on; within the gay community there would be those who would be “ outraged “ if , because of his sexuality, a gay actor was not cast as Bond, but, many of those same people would be “ outraged “ if a straight actor were to be cast in a gay roll.

    I think it comes from the fact that historically in film/tv/media, straight white men are overwhelmingly overrepresented, so if there's a character that doesn't adhere to one of those three characteristics, we should give that work to an actor that can more accurately represent that character.

    Outrage towards a straight character not being portrayed by a gay actor is not something I've ever seen, but to me that would only make sense if they intentionally did not cast an actor for the sole reason that they were gay.

    For example, if Aidan Turner was cast as the seventh Bond, I highly doubt I'd see a headline that says "GAY ACTOR NOT CAST AS BOND, CAUSES OUTRAGE" or what have you.

    On the other hand, though, if Luke Evans did an interview and revealed something along the lines of "I was screen tested and we were in the final steps of putting me in as James Bond, and then Barbara found out I was gay and suddenly I was out", I could see outrage (justified, IMO) outrage stemming from that hypothetical situation.

    Outrage towards a gay character being portrayed by a straight actor is not something I've seen either, and we've recently had Remi Malek and Benedict Cumberbatch both portray famously gay historical figures. I don't doubt there were some people who were upset that these characters weren't portrayed by gay actors, but society at large seems like it was fine with these casting choices, and I would have trouble passing judgement onto someone who was upset about the casting for my above-mentioned reasons.

    It's unfair to expect the solutions to inequality to be immediately and perfectly fair.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Any pervert can play any fictional character, it happens all the time and what does it matter? People are free, don t stick your noses into their private lives.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    Any pervert can play any fictional character, it happens all the time and what does it matter? People are free, don t stick your noses into their private lives.

    Couldn't agree more with the last part of your post, but in the context of the discussion, I can't help but feel like you're referring to gay people as perverts?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Any pervert can play any fictional character, it happens all the time and what does it matter? People are free, don t stick your noses into their private lives.

    Couldn't agree more with the last part of your post, but in the context of the discussion, I can't help but feel like you're referring to gay people as perverts?

    I don t mind perverts, let that be stated.
  • Luke Evans sexuality is a complete non-issue, he's convincingly played straight characters throughout his career and an actors real-world sexuality should have no bearing on their ability to play Bond. They are ACTORS paid to ACT. Some may be surprised to know that Daniel Craig is in fact not a self-destructive, cold-blooded killer, but a warm family man who is a pretty sweet guy.

    The only issue for Evans for me is his age, but I think he's similar to Craig in the sense that he could convincingly play Bond into his 50's, but this likely would still put a ticking clock on his run and effectively eliminate any "early years" type reboot.
  • Posts: 16,169
    Luke Evans sexuality is a complete non-issue, he's convincingly played straight characters throughout his career and an actors real-world sexuality should have no bearing on their ability to play Bond. They are ACTORS paid to ACT. Some may be surprised to know that Daniel Craig is in fact not a self-destructive, cold-blooded killer, but a warm family man who is a pretty sweet guy.

    The only issue for Evans for me is his age, but I think he's similar to Craig in the sense that he could convincingly play Bond into his 50's, but this likely would still put a ticking clock on his run and effectively eliminate any "early years" type reboot.

    I think Evans could probably play Bond into his '50's and be great. At this point I wouldn't really want an early years re-boot. Eon did a superb job giving us an origin story for Bond in CR, which I feel was a masterpiece.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    I'm totally with you @battleshipgreygt and @ToTheRight.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited December 2021 Posts: 3,152
    There was recently a bit of a kerfuffle around the idea that straight actors shouldn't play gay characters in future - if that becomes accepted practice, wouldn't it work the other way too? Seems a bit undermining of the very idea of 'acting', really! After all, I doubt that Craig had to have had two kills before he was hired to play Bond...
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,551
    Venutius wrote: »
    There was recently a bit of a kerfuffle around the idea that straight actors shouldn't play gay characters in future - if that becomes accepted practice, wouldn't it work the other way too? Seems a bit undermining of the very idea of 'acting', really!

    I wouldn't want to know how they'd intend to "prove" an actor's sexual orientation! ;)

    And I agree, it's easy to see how something like this undermines the idea of acting; the idea, inherently, is to portray someone who you're not.

    With regards to "wouldn't it work the other way too?" In an ideal world, yes, but IMO it's a pendulum swing; it has swung far in one direction, and it's unfair (IMO) to expect the pendulum to suddenly stop in the perfect center.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    mtm wrote: »
    None of the men who have played Bond so far have been actual spies; they all managed pretty well despite that I think.

    Hm, how would you know?
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,420
    Venutius wrote: »
    There was recently a bit of a kerfuffle around the idea that straight actors shouldn't play gay characters in future - if that becomes accepted practice, wouldn't it work the other way too?

    I don't think equality always means that things should be the same for both sets of people: more it means that there's a levelling up required.
    mtm wrote: »
    None of the men who have played Bond so far have been actual spies; they all managed pretty well despite that I think.

    Hm, how would you know?


    You make a very good point! :D They do seem to travel a lot...
  • Venutius wrote: »
    There was recently a bit of a kerfuffle around the idea that straight actors shouldn't play gay characters in future - if that becomes accepted practice, wouldn't it work the other way too? Seems a bit undermining of the very idea of 'acting', really!

    I wouldn't want to know how they'd intend to "prove" an actor's sexual orientation! ;)
    Lazenby would love to tell you some stories.

    It's a weird one. I know places like Twitter aren't the majority but it's one hell of an echo chamber for a vocal minority that can and has caused serious damage to people's reputations. I remember people going crazy and "cancelling" JK Rowling for her comments regarding her position on the trans community. Elizabeth Olsen had to quit social media due to the harassment she endured because she didn't make a statement that was scheduled in time with the timeline of MCU fans about Chadwick Boseman's death and we have Eddie Redmayne lamenting his role for the Danish Girl (which he won an Oscar for) to avoid backdated backlash. You can't sneeze these days without grossly offending someone.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,420
    Is that relevant? Are you talking about the sexuality thing? I'm not sure why anyone would be offended by that.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited December 2021 Posts: 13,978
    I would be happy with Luke Evans as Bond, he has a good Bondian look to him., a little more on the chilled side than smooth. He looks like a live action Serpents Tooth Bond.
  • 00Heaven00Heaven Home
    Posts: 575
    Luke Evans would be great but with the rate EON put out Bond movies recently it just wouldn't work beyond one or maybe two. I think that's the problem with any actor in the early 40s range.

    As for his sexuality... I don't care as long as he can pull off straight, hetero "up for it" male. Actors act. It's madness that this is a topic of conversation (though I have said before it would likely come up for some).
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,807
    But an American actor as Bond.
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