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This. Charisma is what really counts. Looks are of secondary importance.
Pierce Brosnan was almost too good looking, for example. Bond should have some amount of "word weariness" in his looks, and not resemble a fashion model.
He's compared to Hoagy Carmichael in the books, and has having "dark, rather cruel, good looks". Always something to consider.
Sex appeal is important; we need to believe that Bond can actually seduce all these women. What is sexually appealing for women may also be appealing for men but in a different way; they would be charmed by the charisma.
But exactly how that should emanate is another matter. The few reactions on this thread also suggest it's highly personal.
Elegance however, can make even an average looking person attractive. It all comes down to his attire and the level of sophistication he can offer.
exactly, Elegance and sophistication are a major factor, but also the level of confidence he can portray. Daniel Craig was mainly cast because of that.
I remember reading an interview with Micheal G. Wilson where he said that the main reason they even noticed him was a movie (wasn't mentioned unfortunately) where they simply saw him walk down a hallway, and thought that his guy expressed so much confidence in his walk alone.
All these qualities can boost the sex appeal of the actor. The look is secondary as Craig showed that you don't need to look like a Model to have sex appeal, even though i don't mind if we go back to a good looking actor for the next Bond.
I do think it is important to some degree that the actor is kind of a ladies man in real life, simply because it helps to sell that aspect of Bond more believably and doesn't come across as stiff. Dalton was not your typical ladies man, and it shows in his portrayal, but thats just a minor nitpick, he had other qualities.
Or how important is for you to find the Bond actors attractive?
I think the walk bit was in Elizabeth. (I saw that walk in my head when I was reading your comment, so I think I've read something about it before in this context...)
I don't agree that actors should be like the characters they play in real life. An actor is supposed to be able to act to portray the behavior and characteristics needed for the character. If the actor comes across as stiff as a ladies man, then it's because they fail to act that aspect believably, not because they aren't that in real life. Just like if they don't appear believably cold and ruthless when needed, then that's a problem with their acting, and it's not that they should actually be cold and ruthless in real life for the acting to work.
One area where I have noticed a lack in Craig (and only in comparison to Connery/Moore who were masters at it imho) is in the lady killer attribute. I think he does very well when it's written properly, and also in the non-verbal cues (like that confident walk in Layer Cake when he first sees Sienna Miller's character and goes up to her in the club, or the look when he's trying to seduce Solange in CR post-Aston win), but if the writing is poor, I don't find him convincing here at all. I am referring specifically to the Lucia seduction in SP, which I've heard some mention as 'creepy' and to some extent I agree. Moore or Connery in particular would have nailed that scene, whether that's because they are naturally better at this sort of thing or not I don't know.
The same goes for his 'humour'. I have said elsewhere that I think Craig is best with free flowing sarcasm, that was on offer throughout SF. I don't find him all that impressive with canned 'one liners', no matter how well or poorly they're are written. He comes across, to me, like he's embarrassed to be delivering them. The same goes for Brosnan. Dalton even seemed uncomfortable with them. Only Connery and Moore were able to nail this aspect perfectly, again imho.
Both the smoothness with women and ability to convincingly deliver one liners are attributes that I associate with movie Bond, and so I expect the next actor to be good at these two elements (at least from my viewpoint). How he looks physically is somewhat secondary to me.
I agree, but only to a certain extend. Sure an actor should be able to pull off the character he was hired for, but not every actor can pull off every type of character.
I would not cast jesse eisenberg to pull of a cool, sophisticated macho type character... but it might be easier to cast Daniel Craig to play a quirky nerd who talks too much...
It depends on the Role and the Actor.
Worst case scenario is that you 'see' the acting and it doesn't feel a hundred percent natural, and to not run into that situation it would be simply easier to cast someone who has real life expirience he can draw from... which actors have to do anyway to prepare for roles
Overall attractiveness describes better what is needed, I think, as I always say that good looks in themselves are kinda meaningless. In other words I think being good looking and being attractive are entirely different things. But opinions vary...
Now, how important is it to find the Bond actors attractive? That's an interesting question. Depends to what extent one thinks of attractiveness here. Basically, if one means it in the sense of "would I personally be interested in getting my paws on that guy" then no, it isn't important, I can enjoy the movies without that. But if it's meant in the more general way, a person being attractive in the sense of being intriguing and interesting in some way, then it's very important, since it's difficult to enjoy a movie where the lead is just meh.
Well maybe not being exactly like the character but maybe feeling a bit related to the character in some way helps.
For example Roger Moore didn't feel good with the dark side of character so he just left that part out in most of his films.
Pierce is obviously not a womanizer but he does like woman and said in an interview that he does like loce scenes. so a small port of being quite similar to the character helps.
Obviously no actor can play any role under the sun, and I wasn't suggesting they should. That's why casting right people for parts matters.
I still disagree about the real life experience to draw from. Actors don't need to have matching real life experiences for their roles. To play an assassin they don't need to prepare by killing people (thank goodness) or even talk to actual killers. Acting requires abilities such as imagination. Preparing for roles may mean research of many kinds depending on the role, but it's not needed that the actor has similar characteristics or experiences in real life that the character they need to portray does.
Talk about strange bedfellows...
I agree how important it is to cast the right actors for specific parts and yes not everyone is suitted to every role not even the best actors around.
However we have had some un typical choices which have worked the main example is Daniel Craig.
How many of us jumped on Craig is not bond at the beginning and then changed our minds ?
That's because he didn't seem suited for the role seing him in the whole film changed everything and some even changed their minds since the first trailer.
another un typical choices which worked were Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons and Heath Ledger in the dark knight.
I bet non of us would have cast those actors in their respective roles but they surprised us bing time.
Now about looking to be like the character is slightly the technique of method acting which has done wonders with many of the greatest.
Sure they won't become killers or kil anyone to prepare but trying to resmble someone 's like to portray it right is something many actors have done.
Daniel Day Lewis spent all time in his wheelchair to portray Chrosty Brown and he won and oscar, he also spent a day in jail to prepare for his role in the film In the namr of the father.
I think this is the key when one may not be typical for a role - namely to bring your own interpretation that is genuine and unique to you.
That's my point about Craig in SP. This was the first time I felt he was trying to be a composite of the other actors, rather than just being genuine, which I think he did marvelously particularly in CR/QoS.
I guess not many directors are often in a situation where they can cast who they want. The financiers have their say and they are less likely to have enough creative imagination and a proper idea of who would be right for a role, instead of being more famous or better looking or whatever else that the non-creative people in the process deem more important. So getting through the ranks is often hard. Actors need people (those who have a say in casting, not the audience, of course) to believe that they can do the kinds of roles they haven't done before, or aren't "typical" for. Once they've gotten chances to prove they can, then it's up to them.
@bondjames, I don't know if Craig tried to be "a composite" Bond in SP, but he kinda was, and I suppose that's why I wasn't anywhere near as impressed as I had been before. I guess it didn't feel genuine to me, either.
I agree with you on the financiers (and sometimes the directors) wanting to typecast. Actors should definitely try to resist this. In my view Waltz is a perfect example of this in SP. We had high expectations (due to Landa) but perhaps it would have been better had the role gone to a relative unknown who could bring their own interpretation untarnished by 'baggage' of previous iconic villain roles.
Some actors are quite chameleon like, and can play anything. Jessica Chastain comes to mind but there are others like Cate Blanchett. Even Leo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Tom Hardy or Matt Damon. Sometimes it also helps to not be too distinctive looking (and I'm not saying they aren't).