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'They don't 'arf pick 'em '...bad actor choices in 007's world

barryt007barryt007
edited March 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 19,339
Tanya Mallett,Gloria Hendry,Talisa Soto,Barbara Bach,John Terry.....

To name but a few,it makes me wonder how these limited actors/actresses made it through their auditions compared to others vying for the role who they must have seen would have been more talented.

These are big films and big money making productions from start to finish yet they all,and more besides,made it into history.

Any ideas or any more actors you think should be added to the limited people above
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Comments

  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    Oh god, here's another Pierce Brosnan bashing thread :(

    Seriously, I'd go for Charles Grey as Bloefeld, Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight, Joe Don Baker as Brad Whitiker and Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton
  • shadowonthesunshadowonthesun Banned
    Posts: 1,894
    George Lazenby. Just about everyone else in OHMSS was perfectly cast. Except for him. He was about as convincing in the role as a cabbage would have been. I still don't understand why he is so applauded by fans. He's not brilliant. He's not good. He's not even mediocre. What should have been one of the best films in the frnachise was utterly ruined by a man who had no place being there and was simply trying far too hard to be Sean Connery.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Denise Richards - just awful! Maybe the worst choice for any role to date.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    Daniel Craig. Atleast with the way the character was written for a much younger actor than him at the time of CR. Craig is a great addition to the franchise, but does not fit one bit the characterization of Bond he was given. He just isn't believable as a rookie Bond.
  • BondBond
    Posts: 503
    Daniel Craig, Halle Berry, Denise Richards, Grace Jones, Jill St. John, Joe Don Baker (LTK) to name a few.

    Don't get me wrong Craig lovers, I fully appreciate Daniel as an amazingly talented actor, but he just doesn't fit the bill of James Bond to me at all.
  • CISCIS Suspended
    Posts: 52
    I agree about Daniel Craig, sadly. Talented actor but just doesn't convince me as James Bond. He really puts out a great effort, but he's the last person I'd ever have thought of casting as James Bond.
  • BondBond
    Posts: 503
    Quoting shadowonthesun: George Lazenby. Just about everyone else in OHMSS was perfectly cast. Except for him. He was about as convincing in the role as a cabbage would have been. I still don't understand why he is so applauded by fans. He's not brilliant. He's not good. He's not even mediocre. What should have been one of the best films in the frnachise was utterly ruined by a man who had no place being there and was simply trying far too hard to be Sean Connery.
    I think what many see in Lazenby is his lack of dominating presence, which is seen as a good thing for OHMSS. I agree to an extent. Connery as we knew him just wouldn't have worked in OHMSS, and I'm not sure Moore would have either (maybe if it was his first film).
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    Quoting BAIN123: Oh god, here's another Pierce Brosnan bashing thread :(
    No no, this is about all bad actors in the Bond series Bain, not just Brosnan ;)

    I'd say Halle Berry was the absolute most abysmal Bond girl, followed closely by Barbara Bach, Denise Richards, and Gloria Hendry.

    Brosnan is the only bad Bond there was, just plain bad, but for the villains I don't recall any badly acted villains. No issues with that many henchmen, or allies, but John Terry is laughable but so minor it's forgettable.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited March 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Quoting Luds: Brosnan is the only bad Bond there was, just plain bad
    Well I disagree with you on that. I watched GE again today and frankly I'd still take him over Craig anyday (and I don't mind Craig).
  • BondBond
    Posts: 503
    Quoting Luds: Brosnan is the only bad Bond there was, just plain bad
    So you think Pierce is worse in every instance than any other Bond? What about Connery in DAF? Lazenby in OHMSS (which I happen to enjoy, but many don't)?
  • GeorgeLazenbyGeorgeLazenby
    Posts: 295
    Brosnan was the only truly bad Bond imho He was too smug and boyish and didn't really bring anything new to the table. I think Dalton had a lot of potential, but I also feel he was the wrong choice for the type of Bond audiences were accustomed to (humorous, womanizing etc.).
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    Quoting Bond:
    Quoting Luds: Brosnan is the only bad Bond there was, just plain bad
    So you think Pierce is worse in every instance than any other Bond? What about Connery in DAF? Lazenby in OHMSS (which I happen to enjoy, but many don't)?
    Admittedly Connery was not at his best in DAF or YOLT. I find him better in DAF actually, he seemed to genuinely enjoy himself. I consider DAF a Moore era film, and Sean's performance was more reminiscent to Moore's flicks.

    Lazenby I found was very good in OHMSS, and having had a chance to carry on, I'm confident that he would have been more polished. Lazenby's lack of acting experience wasn't an issue at all thanks to a great script, and a great director in Peter Hunt. Had he been in DAF, evidently the movie wouldn't have been a comedy but a movie about being torn apart and seeking revenge, I believe he would have been a very appreciated Bond. I place him lower on my list, kinda by default, since he's only judged on a single performance, but I find him far superior in the role than anything Brosnan ever did.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    Donald Pleasence as Blofeld... I'm sorry - maybe i'm too used to him as Loomis from his later years - but he never convinced me as being a menacing threat..

    Jimmy Dean as Willard Whyte... "BOWOHAW?!?!?!"

    Tanya Roberts as Stacy Sutton - Certainly is very easy on the eyes, I am not complaining - but that's where it stops... has about as much acting talent as a wet carrot..

    Grace Jones as Mayday - she just kind of frightened me..

    Denise Richards as Christmas Jones - was cast for only one reason... or, should i say, two reasons...

    Halle Berry as Jinx - maybe it was just the script she was given.. but i just found her annoying, and it certainly wasn't her best performance..

  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    Quoting haserot: Tanya Roberts as Stacy Sutton - Certainly is very easy on the eyes, I am not complaining - but that's where it stops... has about as much acting talent as a wet carrot..
    Really? I know she's disliked but I thought she portrayed the common puzzled damsel in distress to a tee. Something much appreciated in my book over the constant Bond Equals in later flicks.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited March 2011 Posts: 4,399
    not for me, sorry.... her screechy screaming was annoying - and i know this has nothing to do with her acting, but, it's her character.. HOW DO YOU GET SNUCK UP ON BY A BLIMP?!?!?
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    LOL yeah, I never had an issue with that, she's just under panic ;)

    Jimmy Dean was John Terry bad and beyond agreed.
    I really liked Grace Jones, I wish she had a bit more sex appeal though, or at least some hair.
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    see i can do with little, or no hair - whatever floats a girl boat - it doesn't change the more important parts ;) ... but she just looked like she would as soon bite it off before attempt anything else @-)
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited March 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Quoting Luds: I'd say Halle Berry was the absolute most abysmal Bond girl
    I'd say the CHOICE of Halle Berry was actually a pretty sound one. She's a reasonable actress and roughly the right age for Brosnan. It was her character that was irritating.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    edited March 2011 Posts: 1,986
    Quoting BAIN123: I'd say the CHOICE of Halle Berry was actually a pretty sound one. She's a reasonable actress and roughly the right age for Brosnan. It was her character that was irritating.
    Right age and popular I'll approve, her acting ability I seriously question. Any action flick she's been in, she's showed little to no skills, like in DAD, her awful performances in the X-Men franchise, and terrible in Blowfish. Her character was also entirely useless, she was only there to be rescued about 17 times, the writers/director would have been much wiser to give more screen time to Frost, a much more interesting character.

    But coming back to the point of celebrity, she was very popular, much like Denise Richards was, and to an extent Hatcher of Lois & Clark fame. It has been a mistake to keep casting for popularity rather than acting skills. Mind you I'll grant that plenty of characters were cast on looks alone in previous films. These 3 should simply have been there to look at rather than try to act.

    Heck, Britt Ekland wasn't much of an actress but I really enjoy her performance as comic relief. For acting they used Maid Adams.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited March 2011 Posts: 11,189
    I don't think Berry's a great actress but I think she's reasonable enough. I thought she was ok in X-Men and (from what I can remember) Swordfish. Monsters' Ball (her oscar-winning performance) I haven't seen so can't comment.

    Frankly I thought Ekland was a rather dud character. Incompetent as an agent and little to no chemistry with Moore. Worst of all she just was just irritating. Maud Adams was EASILY the better character.

    Still MWTGG was a pretty dud, dull, unfunny, uneven film with crap title song, a Bond who didn't know if he was Connery or not and some questionnable comic relief.

    Sorry barryt007 but I've never been majorly keen on this one.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    Quoting BAIN123: Monsters' Ball (her oscar-winning performance) I haven't seen so can't comment.
    The political statement of giving 2 black actors an Oscar the same year may have been nice, and as great an actor as Denzel Washington is, Training Days is far from his best performance. Granted, pretty good, but Oscar worthy when it was against Russell Crowe and A Beautiful Mind? Ludicrous. We all know how this Oscar gig works, Crowe had won the previous year with Gladiator, so they didn't feel as bad about stealing his award and awarding Denzel. For Berry, out of the 5 nominated, she was the 5th best ;) So allow me not to use Oscars as credential, it's nothing more than a show.

    Funny how @barryt007 listed Mallet and Soto, 2 pitiful actresses I didn't mind due to lack of screen time.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    Posts: 11,189
    T
    Quoting Luds: So allow me not to use Oscars as credential, it's nothing more than a show.
    That we can agree on. Although sometimes some decent performances do rightly win (Colin Firth for instance), largely thanks to good PR. My point was that I can't comment on Berry's performance in Ball as I haven't seen the film.
  • LudsLuds MIA
    Posts: 1,986
    Quoting BAIN123: That we can agree on. Although sometimes some decent performances do rightly win (Colin Firth for instance), largely thanks to good PR. My point was that I can't comment on Berry's performance in Ball as I haven't seen the film.
    Very true, from time to time the deserving party wins. I suggest we carry over this discussion to a new thread regarding the Oscars if you feel like doing so not to deviate too much from the topic.

    Back to your comment about Grey as Blofeld. I agree that he wasn't very good compared to the other 2. Especially since the character changed so much. I wouldn't rank him as bad actor though. I'm not sure who my least favourite villain performance would be.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited March 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Quoting Luds: Back to your comment about Grey as Blofeld. I agree that he wasn't very good
    compared to the other 2. Especially since the character changed so much. I
    wouldn't rank him as bad actor though. I'm not sure who my least favourite
    villain performance would be.
    I don't think Grey is a bad actor, I just don't think he has that sense of menace compared to the other 2 Bloefeld's. He was more suitable for the Henderson type character in YOLT.


    (This did make me laugh when I first watched it) :)
  • SJK91SJK91
    edited January 2012 Posts: 1,310
    Grey isn't a bad actor, but he was the weakest Blofeld.

    Some obvious choices are Denise Richards and Tanya Roberts. But Halle Berry will always be the worst Bond girl, in my mind. There better not be a Bond girl who is worse then her..... X(

    As far as Lazenby goes, he was not an actor, that was true. But I don't think he was a horrible Bond by any means. In certain scenes he was better than others, yes, but he had his scenes. (Especially the very last scene, which I guess mentioning is a cliche by now....on the other hand, since everything was deleted, mentioning that scene is new and fresh again! b-(

    Brosnan was wooden in most of GoldenEye, as was Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun...but other that those two performances, every Bond actor has had a good stint in the role at least once. Yes, even Lazenby.

    I've always thought of Toby Stevens as a weak villain, but I realized with the garbage lines they were giving him, ("Global warming.....is a terrible thing" and "Time to draw the line" to name a few) it was hardly his fault. Maybe saying the lines so seriously and dour made the bad writing come across as worse, though...I don't know.

    Speaking of Die Another Day's villains, Zao is an interesting character. He says his lines so stiff and wooden you might thing he was some sort of a Terminator robot. But for some reason, he doesn't bug me as much....

    Die Another Day sure is no good, either way.

    Gloria Hendry was awful, but she has 10 minutes of screen time and Live and Let Die, despite being solid, wasn't going to be anything more, with or without Hendry's character.

    John Terry was a terrible Felix but David Hedison didn't do too much better during the pre-titles sequence of License to Kill. ("Okay! But STRICTLY AS AN OBSERVER!" Ick.) Luckily, he improved as the film went on.

    Kissy Suzuki from You Only Live Twice was so painfully bland, that her acting seemed worse than it probably was. (Or I should say, the voice actress's acting....)

    That's all I have for now....or do I??????
  • SJK91SJK91
    Posts: 1,310
    I feel like bumping this thread, it was a good one! Talk about dusting off some history...
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Tanya Roberts. I have never heard "JAMES! JAMES! JAMES! JAMES!" so many da@# times in my life. What a horrid Bond girl. ~X( %-(
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,305
    Moore had a string of bad/wooden leading ladies, from Ekland to Bach to Chiles to Bouquet, and then finally Roberts.

    Seymour and Adams' acting is stellar by comparison!
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    Posts: 4,399
    BAIN123 wrote:
    T

    <blockquote><a href="/index.php?p=/discussion/comment/2630#Comment_2630">Quoting Luds</a>: So allow me not to use Oscars as credential, it's nothing more than a show. <BR></blockquote>

    That we can agree on. Although sometimes some decent performances do rightly win (Colin Firth for instance), largely thanks to good PR. My point was that I can't comment on Berry's performance in Ball as I haven't seen the film.

    this reminds me back when Shakespeare In Love won BEST PICTURE over Saving Private Ryan..... what a joke.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    edited January 2012 Posts: 4,521
    Michael Madsen (DAD). Always hate him. That i must repeat his name again is big problem for me.
    Halle Berry (DAD) Like her in X-men. But like some other chacters not get any feeling like the movie: cold. Iam also don't mind any more that Lindy Hemming is gone.
    Rick Yune (DAD) His chacter is not developt enough and because he is unknown actor & other things faild too you don't get any feeling with the chacter.
    Rik Van Nutter (TB) I think another actor should have playing Felix.
    Adolfo Celi (TB) No get any feeling with the chacter
    Steven Berkoff (Octopussy) The chacter is weak point of the movie.
    Joe Don Baker (TLD) Not hate the actor, it be the chacter he playing.
    Eva Green (CR) No get any feeling with the chacter, don't believe Bond be in love. Also Eva Green having a behaviour i dislike.
    Caterina Murino (CR) I don't mind what happen with the chacter, don't like the inter action with Solange and Bond.
    Luciana Paluzzi (TB) No get any feeling with the chacter with exeption i think TB for a part is to much Dr No FRWL copy.
    John Terry (TLD) I think another actor should have playing Felix.


    From Skyfall i doubt the casting of Albert Finney (already seen in Bourne) Ralph Fienes (not hame him, but iam afraid for a to emitional-violence chacter) & Bérénice Marlohe (France girl playing another corupt agent ) the moost.

    Whyle i like QOS, i think Gemma Arterton be the best of the 2 Bond girls. If Bérénice Marlohe not be like Beswick but more like Eva Green or Sophie Marceau iam disapointed. I hope Bond end with Helen McCrory chacter is that be possible.
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