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I think most fans will. There will be one or two disgruntled fans (check out craignotbond) but you can't keep the entire fanbase happy.
A safe bet is much better than EON going with a more controversial choice that would have divided the fanbase (not matching the literary description being the most obvious one).
Bluntly put, I’m not sure if there’s anything special about him. But I could be wrong. I don’t think him being a ‘safe choice’ (we don’t even know if that’s true, nor do EON before auditions) is something in his favour. That just means there could be candidates who are more impactful than him.
Not sure what people thought of Connery's early career either before 1962. All depends on how ATJ came across in auditions (if we are to believe this story).
Yeah. That's it.
I think it’s very unlikely there have been any auditions, at least pre-2023. The actor’s strikes ended in November and it takes a while to set up these things. Not to mention there’d likely be rumblings of studios being used at Pinewood or whatever (like I said, I don’t think the fact that auditions are taking place will be a secret, even if the candidates and specifics are not known to us).
As for Connery, I’d describe him as essentially being a character actor in a movie star’s body, exactly like Craig. But yes, he was obviously a somewhat odd choice with his Scottish accent and the fact that he’d played very un-Bondian/ruffian type characters (amongst others). But from a producer/Casting Director standpoint (ie. people whose job it is to look for these qualities in order to create a pool of candidates) I can see how they’d have seen those qualities. And anyway, just from how they adapted DN and how Bond had been adapted in comic strips in the 50s, it makes sense that they leaned towards a more rugged and physical actor with heaps of humour/charisma like Connery or Stanley Baker. As opposed to a dryer, more gentlemanly, and I suppose quintessentially Fleming type such as a Trevor Howard.
I mean in the sense that nothing about his performances have felt overly impactful to me. That’s different to a chameleonic character actor. I know people here for instance have described seeing some of Craig’s roles before he played Bond and thought they were great and memorable, even if they weren’t sure about his Bond potential.
I liked it a lot as well. ATJ was great in it.
It’s quite funny in hindsight that I remember watching it and thinking of how great I would find ATJ as an actor years down the line, and how much of a bright future with successful, critically acclaimed films I thought Sam Taylor Johnson had…
I don't need an "obvious" choice for Bond. I was all for Craig when he was announced because despite not looking like the previous Bonds he had a few scene-stealing performances behind him (Munich for example) and a good presence. ATJ seems like a lightweight.
ATJ's a damn good actor and he has mainly gone for character parts, but I agree that there's a difference between that and Dan's pre-Bond career - before I knew his name, I'd see Craig in something on tv and think 'oh, that's that guy from...' whatever. I remembered him. In contrast, when I saw Nocturnal Animals and The Wall, it never even crossed my mind that that was the Kick-Ass guy. I didn't recognise him at all. That's good for a character actor, but not that great for untapped star potential.
True, in contrast to Connery, Dalton or Brosnan, ATJ doesn't appear very obviously Bondian in person, but I agree with the people on here who've stressed in the past that we haven't seen any of these suggested actors actually playing Bond - so we really don't know how differently they'd come over if they were actually inhabiting the character. Remember Rachel Weisz saying that Craig wasn't even remotely a Bondian hardman in reality, he was just 'really good at playing one.' Maybe ATJ would be too.
I agree with @Mendes4Lyfe. I don't want a boring, taylor-made-for-Bond, obvious choice who's never not been on our mind. I want a bloke whose casting (if it happens) makes me go "really, him?, huh...", only to then wait for the actor to glide into the role, rather than the other way around.
This is exactly where I am. You watch Craig in Our Friends or stuff like Arkangel or Sword of Honour even before you get to the movies he was starting to be a powerful lead in and you're watching something special. Taylor-Johnson has never done that for me and more sort of struggled through, getting the occasional lead role and blowing most of them, to be frank. Godzilla had a palpable moment of interest level dip for me when Bryan Cranston hands the lead over to Taylor-Johnson: the film just becomes so much less interesting. Craig did a couple of movies where he's a not great lead in too, I guess; but importantly he then also kept showing how good he can be. T-J's okay as a supporting. Maybe he'll suddenly become a star in Kraven.
Yeah, not that I’m much looking forward to Kraven personally (Nosferatu certainly, although I think he’s a supporting actor in that one). But yes, definitely have to see about Kraven, even if it means that’ll be the role/franchise that ultimately prevents him from auditioning for Bond. Come to think of it that idea would in part explain the vague comments he’s given about Bond when he was doing interviews for Kraven.
That's a very good point: he'll have been signed up for three Kravens you'd imagine, and it's a bit insulting to your current employer to talk about taking another role instead of the one you're promoting.
And with a potential Kraven contract tying him into more big movies you're right that there's a big chance that MGM/Eon actually won't be interested in him. There was a recent Spyhards podcast interview with Jeff Kleeman who was an MGM big cheese in the 90s when they were pressing to bring back Bond, and he said that names like Mel Gibson which were tossed around wouldn't be in the frame just because you need to be available to be Bond and not tied into some other big film series. The only possible saving grace is that, let's face it, Kraven is going to be rubbish and not get a sequel.
They might well be waiting to see how the first one does before committing to others (possibly anyway, I don’t think any future films are officially in the pipeline). It’s the sort of film that could either be relatively successful or another Morbieus so….
I mean, this is what he said when asked about Bond months ago.
“But this is the thing, right? As I’ve already told you, I have to go by the beat of my own drum. It’s my own path, what feels intuitive to me […] I’ve never made a decision based on other people’s perspectives, or their judgments, or their expectations. You lose your f***ing mind if you do that. Your sense of worth and soul is gone. You need to understand what is integral to you and what feels right, and you’ve got to stay on track with what’s present in front of you. Kraven is what’s in front of me. I’ve spent two years making Kraven. So all that hard work we put into trying to get that to where it is – that’s where I’m at right now.”
I think some of us got a bit excited about it at the time, and it’s a bit random sounding out of context, but yeah, very likely he is waiting to see what comes of Kraven or anything he does in the near future before committing to a hypothetical Bond audition that’s probably at least a year from now.
EDIT - yeah, good point about the Mel Gibson types. And yes, very likely Kraven will be rubbish.
I think Bond is always bigger than the director regardless of who it is. Even if that's simply in terms of the publicity around the new Bond. I know Nolan would be the biggest name to helm a Bond film if he was chosen, but I don't think his name itself would guarantee a hit on the level of SF or TB. A big part of that is getting a strong leading man. I think for very many casual viewers Nolan's name would mean little.
I know it sounds weird, and most of us are film fans as well as Bond fans so we do keep up with these things, but there are many people who see these films who don't follow the Oscars, and don't always take into account who the director is. This is from my personal experience of talking with non-filmey friends and family who did see Oppenheimer. For them, Nolan was just a name on a poster - a few younger ones didn't know who he was at all and were surprised that he had directed the Batman trilogy, and others didn't immediately know he'd directed Oppenheimer. As big as he is, Nolan's not an Alfred Hitchcock who did actually have a screen presence during his height with his tv work. There's not that same level of recognition, both with him himself and the films that he makes, nor in terms of the publicity around his films.
In that sense, Bond is a very powerful franchise. More powerful than 99.9% of directors (and that very much includes Nolan). It doesn't need a big name. And it can very easily dismiss or outright let go of even very established directors if they're up to the task (ie. Boyle). If EON hire a big name (and it's very possible they will) they simply need to know they share their creative vision and are able to deliver what they want. But they won't and can't outshine the franchise itself, nor can they outshine the actor.
I think that the franchise being so famous AND Nolan being such a big name will help balance things out if the actor is not considered much of a draw. I think if you are a virtual unknown and you are picked by someone like Nolan to be Bond it's going to be very beneficial, but it's no guarantee of long-term success for the actor (I'm thinking of Cameron picking Sam Worthington as the lead in Avatar... big successful film, Worthington was unable to cement his stardom afterwards, though. Solid actor, but not a particularly interesting one, imo).
I think good word-of-mouth and good reviews are essential, and I do think it's easy to forget that Nolan is Nolan for his ability to keep making films people want to see and want to talk about. Ultimately, though, the Bond actor is who'll stick with the franchise and be its face, so they are never unimportant (unless I guess Eon really switch things up and just change Bond actors every film, which I don't believe is viable).
This!
Accent/voice aside, he is incredibly dull in a lead role.
In fairness it's really not a great film. But I do remember watching it and being very disappointed in ATJ, especially after seeing Nowhere Boy.
This might be where the director comes in. I get the sense that if the script's take on Bond is interesting and meaty enough, and they can work with an actor like ATJ who perhaps needs a bit more coaxing in order to that star quality out of them, then maybe ATJ could be a good fit. But honestly, to use an analogy, why settle for a Henry Cavill if there's potentially a Daniel Craig to be found?
I'm not sure how many people would have said Craig was the best British actor of his generation at the time (as in I genuinely don't know, being too young - I know he was in a lot of TV and had been in things like Munich and Layer Cake which were well received but not financial hits, as well as a lot of smaller stuff).
I mean, if you asked me personally as someone who keeps up with British film nowadays, I'd say the best young British character actors of their generation would be the likes of Jack O'Connell or maybe Josh O'Connor or someone like that. I suppose they're potentials for Bond.
I know a few women over 50 who would have said Cumberbatch.
Yeah, he's not exactly a Timothy Dalton 'I'm a serious actor' type. ;)) He sounds like some reality TV star.
Big Brother Bond.
=))
But he is an actor so he can transform into a secret agent and wow Barbara Broccoli and she'll offer him a 7 film contract over the next 30 years. 🤭
Yeah, I don’t think this guy is wowing BB, or EoN…
How sure are you
Why? Are you considering purchasing one of my Blockbuster Stores?