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Talented actors who were miscast/poor in Bond
Watched the recent Nelson Mandela film the other day and it reminded me that Naomi Harris is one of the best actresses working. She's brilliant. And that's one of the reasons that I've always found her disappointing as Moneypenny. In the run up to SF I remember there were worries about Berenice's acting (who didn't have many credits at all) while we pretty much all assumed that Naomie would be great but it turned out the other way around imo. Severine is probably my favourite Bond girl, she was fantastic, while Harris seemed wooden and her banter with Craig has always felt really forced to me. I actually much preferred Samantha Bond and was very disappointed.
Are there any other actors who we think were miscast/disappointing in Bond? Could extend to the Bond actors themselves too, I know that some fans believe that Dalton and Brosnan's best work comes outside the franchise and one of the criticisms of SP I've heard the most is that Waltz seemed to be phoning it in.
To be clear, I'm not talking about actors wasted by the material like Rosamund Pike for example. I'm on about cases where the actor themself failed to deliver.
I think Julian Glover is another you could make a case for. Very talented actor and yet he plays what's probably the most forgettable Bond villain of all time imo. The material doesn't help, he spends a decent amount of the film posing as Bond's ally so there's no grand introduction or iconic scene, nothing exciting or interesting at all to latch on to, but even after the reveal when he gets the odd opportunity to (e.g. the shark scene) he doesn't come across as very threatening or memorable in the slightest. Although to be fair I haven't seen FYEO for ages (I think the whole film is boring and forgettable so I never really feel the desire to watch it) so I might be doing him a disservice here.
What do you all think?
Are there any other actors who we think were miscast/disappointing in Bond? Could extend to the Bond actors themselves too, I know that some fans believe that Dalton and Brosnan's best work comes outside the franchise and one of the criticisms of SP I've heard the most is that Waltz seemed to be phoning it in.
To be clear, I'm not talking about actors wasted by the material like Rosamund Pike for example. I'm on about cases where the actor themself failed to deliver.
I think Julian Glover is another you could make a case for. Very talented actor and yet he plays what's probably the most forgettable Bond villain of all time imo. The material doesn't help, he spends a decent amount of the film posing as Bond's ally so there's no grand introduction or iconic scene, nothing exciting or interesting at all to latch on to, but even after the reveal when he gets the odd opportunity to (e.g. the shark scene) he doesn't come across as very threatening or memorable in the slightest. Although to be fair I haven't seen FYEO for ages (I think the whole film is boring and forgettable so I never really feel the desire to watch it) so I might be doing him a disservice here.
What do you all think?
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Comments
Benicio should have been cast in a Bond after THE USUAL SUSPECTS. His acting was very far off from where he learned to take it later in his career.
Cec Minder, Norman Burton and John Terry might have been useful in some part but they were no Felix Leiter in my book.
Rosie Carver was totally miscast. My senses are on Roger the entire time, seeking distraction in order to survive the ordeal.
Many people will no doubt mention Denise Richards but I disagree. She put some fun in a film that otherwise refuses to have some. :-)
I completely agree on Richards. I think if she wasn't such a big name people wouldn't have a problem with it. Miscast as a nuclear physicist? Maybe. And I'm not going to pretend she's an amazing actress. But as that particular Bond girl she was perfect. Really fun character and I like how the lack of chemistry with Brosnan was sort of made up for by how fit she was, even in Bond's eyes (the little pause he does before "first things first", he's not suave or seductive or charming, he just knows what's going to happen and he can't wait).
I used to agree, one of the reasons I found TND so disappointing when I first saw it was because of how much of a let down Carver was after Trevelayn, but over the last couple of years I've come to really like him. He's hammy and OTT but he seems to be having a lot of fun, he brings infectious enthusiasm to it imo which along with the great lines he gets make him a really fun villain.
The same goes with Ralph Fiennes. As I mentioned on the 'Controversial Thread', I'm beginning to think he was miscast. Great actor, but he doesn't convey 'aggrieved' well without looking particularly angry. Lee always seemed likable, even when he was upset at Bond.
Christoph Waltz as well. Too much Landa comes into his performance at times in SP, and I'm beginning to think he's shown us all he can bring (although both his Tarantino performances are definitely worthy of their respective Oscars).
Julian Glover as well. Quite forgettable imho, but that's perhaps due to John Glen's directorial debut. I found most of the characters in FYEO (except for Columbo - how can you suppress Topol's charisma?) to be emasculated, including Roger Moore.
I also am in agreement regarding Christopher Walken. I've always found his Zorin performance a little odd. Characterless, apart from a few flourishes here and there. He's far more interesting in Batman Returns as Max Shreck.
I will add Robert Carlyle. His Renard is one of the most expressionless, uninteresting and forgettable villains in the history of Bondom.
I don't agree on Denise Richards because the title of this thread is about talented actors. Richards is indeed talented, but in other more obvious ways, as noted by Bond when he made the "first things first" comment.
I don't agree on Benicio Del Toro either. While it's far from his best performance, Dario is very memorable in LTK, and Del Toro gives him a slightly off kilter disposition which is unsettling. I'm sure he would be much better if he played a villain today, of course.
I don't agree on Jonathan Pryce. I think he is excellent as the megalomaniac Carver. A camp super powerful villain in the tradition of Drax.
I'm struggling to come up with a quip that isn't sub Dick Emery levels.
Also, I liked Pryce as Carver too.
Just quote something about Christmas from the TWINE script!
Resorting to a P&W gag is beneath me.
True, just thought it might get the dog wheels working on something much wittier!
Well I suppose I could go with something along the lines of delivering Christmas a present right up her chimney but I'm better than that.
Sounds just like them!
Hands down.
I absolutely loved him in Diving Bell and the Butterfly. He gives such an incredible performance in that movie. Plus, following Casino Royale with this new, modern, raw approach to Bond and with Forester directing I was full sure that Quantum would give us a complex, dramatic villain who would challenge Bond on a whole new level.
Sadly that wasn't to be, and Amalric has the misfortune of being one of the most tragically wasted talents in the 50+ year history of the franchise.
Clue was in the name!
Maybe that was intentional and Blofeld was actually pulling his strings all along?!
That fight with DC was insane
Yes, that's how I've always seen it. Blofled, or at the time (before they got the rights), whoever the head of Quantum was supposed to be. In the end, he was nothing more than an errand boy for them.
However, I really liked him as Greene. Suitably greasy. Greene is a small and insecure man, but is still dangerous on account of his volatile temperament. Very similar to Klaus Maria Brandauer as Largo.
His bulging eyes remind me a little of Michael Emerson, and both can do villains quite well.
More a case of badly written than miscast.
All he ended up being was a slightly pompous baby. And Waltz at times seemed as if he was just breezily firing out the lines written for him so he could get his scenes over and done with (granted the script didn't give him lots to chew on, but as an actor, he really failed to dig deep and find something in his performance that would be interesting)
Waltz, Seydoux, Bautista and Bellucci... all wasted.