It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
This is a top 10 of bad casting decisions in the Bond series, and is merely my choice after very little thinking time.
Number 10
GOLDIE in The World Is Not Enough
Just too gimmicky casting the (please insert exactly what Goldie is or was here) golden toothed one as a barely threatening villain who double crosses his boss and meets his maker in one of the few moments in the film where I managed to punch the air and shout 'YES'. Not the greatest actor, fair to say?
Number 9
TOBY STEPHENS in Die Another Day
I know Madonna is in this film, but not enough to cause any serious issues. But Mr Stephens gurns and smirks and postures and snivels his way through the longest Rik Mayall impression I have ever seen.
Number 8
KATRINA WAYBORN in Octopussy
I think she has a vague notion what she should be doing, it just doesn't register in any of her expressions. Blankety Blank, Blankety Blank.
Number 7
DENISE RICHARDS in The World Is Not Enough
Nothing against Denise or the idea of a beautiful woman being a nuclear scientist, but I do admit that when she isn't speaking her lines I love watching her face as she is clearly counting the seconds to her next line, as opposed to reacting to what is going on.
I do like her though if only for that reason.
Number 6
TANYA MALLET in Goldfinger
Not sure if she was dubbed by Nikki Thingy Der Whatsit or not, but if she wasn't she should've been.
Cast for her prettiness and for no other reason whatsoever.
My undisputed top 5
Number 5
JOHN TERRY in The Living Daylights
Everyone has said it before, nothing to add. Lifeless performance by an actor who clearly doesn't want to be there.
Number 4
TALISA SOTO in Licence To Kill
Apparently Talisa wanted to create a bit of a side story which suggests that her character was planning on taking over Franz's empire. She was trying to suggest that Lupe was a strong, intelligent and independent woman slowly but surely manipulating everyone and everything to her advantage. Yes, really. Not one second of that idea came across on screen. Just an empty headed bimbo, poorly performed.
Number 3
CAROLINE BLISS in The Living Daylights
The worst ever Moneypenny, wearing glasses to try and make her look more intelligent, sparring with Bond (much to Dalton's embarrassment I'd say), totally sucking any atmosphere from the scenes she is in. She was even worse in Licence to Kill and she only had a minute on screen.
Number 2
VIJAY AMRITRAJ in Octopussy
Aww bless.
Tennis pro Vijay looked totally bemused by everything going on around him. You can tell he is thinking 'I'M IN A JAMES BOND FILM! I'M IN A JAMES BOND FILM' the whole way through, because he can barely suppress a slightly vacant bemused smile from playing across his face. I half expect him to wave at the camera and mouth 'Hello Mum'. In fact that wouldn't have been out of place in OP.
NUMBER 1BARBARA BACH in The Spy Who Loved Me
Russia's best agent eh? She reminds me of Lady Penelope, (except the latter is less wooden) with her big eyes and bobbly head.
When she bumps in to Bond and spins round effecting a karate chop pose I still piss my pants laughing to this day.
I remember asking my father as a kid how she was planning to be effective against Bond in that confrontation, given he had a gun and she had the 'pose'.
I recall him saying that he wouldn't have shot her even though he had the gun, or something along those lines.
Over the years, I've come to forgive her for this miscalculation, since she looks so damn fetching in that dress. Hamlisch saves it with his cue also.
Pretty sound list to be fair but can't have you slating The Vster!
Vijay is never not entertaining and for a bloke who wasn't an actor I find him far more engaging than bland nonentities such as Hip, Ferrara, Chuck Lee and most of the Leiters.
'Have you learnt anything?'
'Well my backhand's improved'
Lovely stuff.
"my my, you do get around"
"Japan is a bug waiting to be squashed"
Did he? I couldn't sworn he still said "Barnd, James Barnd." Come to think of it, I think he says "Bond" in TND too. He definitely says "Barnd" in TWINE. Consistency was hardly the backbone of the Brosnan era, but why the sudden change?
1.19
Sounds like "Bond" to me.
I agree with @TheWizardOfIce that Vijay is actually a pretty good and memorable ally. I think he is very well cast and you don't feel the lack of acting experience. I would also not be too harsh with minor characters such as Chuck lee. The acting is pretty solid. He is only there to give Bond some information and to be killed shortly after. He is not supposed to be very memorable or charismatic.
I personally find Ursula Andress to be a poor completely overrated actress. I know that she is iconic as hell and very good looking. But I personally find that she does not do anyhing with the role. She appears to be very bland and the character herself is also totally uninteresting. She is probably the Bond girl least essential to any Bond plot. This is not entirely Andress fault but she also does not manage to prevent it.
That's how I feel about her...totally underwhelming compared to Quarrel...bland is the word for me.
Bland is not a word I would associate with Honey, but I must admit that Andress's acting has always been secondary for me, like Bach, Munro, Soto etc. etc.
She wasn't annoying (like Holly-Johnson, Hendry, Richards etc.) in my view, and so I can give her a pass, but I get your point.
Do we have a thread to celebrate the unsung actors who have delivered great performances but have been unrecognised? I'm with you here Jason (and guilty for my list above), as Bond fans we should take more of the positives from this great series.
However, even great series will get it wrong over a 24 film spread, so this thread gives us a chance to be a little bit tongue in cheek about it all.
Oh god. The first one in particular is laughable. The good cop/bad cop interrogation of Sanchez is so cheesy.
Me too. The only bad casting choices for me were Halle Berry (as she tried to take over and enjoy top billing with Bond), Denise Richards (because she can't act) Rory Kinnear (because he's bland) and the constant re-casting of Felix Leiter. Apart from that I haven't got any issues with the casting. Even actors like Adolfo Celi (one of the best Bond villains ever) are getting slated on this forum! WTF.