Who should/could be a Bond actor?

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  • edited May 2022 Posts: 4,133
    It's an interesting question: what age is too young for Bond to be depicted as a character? Again, I personally don't feel a Bond film should depict him as 007 below the age of 30. And that's meant to be a younger Bond. It has an impact on which actor they go with in that case. As does Bond's background should they chose to hint at it (ie. is he Special Forces, or do they retain his Naval Commander background which, while not fun to go into as an idea within the story necessarily, gives the character a different dynamic).
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,368
    Of course as we’ve discussed here before, Bond having the rank of Commander is also a bit of an issue in that it’s such a senior rank it’s hard to believe he’d attain it so young (and not be captaining ships!). But then I’m not a Naval expert, maybe there are commanders who are around 30.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    mtm wrote: »
    Of course as we’ve discussed here before, Bond having the rank of Commander is also a bit of an issue in that it’s such a senior rank it’s hard to believe he’d attain it so young (and not be captaining ships!). But then I’m not a Naval expert, maybe there are commanders who are around 30.

    I was in the navy, and that was very common.
  • Posts: 4,133
    There's of course all this on James Bond wiki about Craig's Bond's background (in which he started out in Sea Service and just sort of made his way up before being recruited by MI6): https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/James_Bond_(Daniel_Craig)

    I have no idea where any of this comes from but it sounds somewhat plausible... at least for a fictional character. Bond comes across to me as the sort of person who would go out of his way to accumulate all of this training/experience due to the thrill of it. Oddly though it claims he became 007 at age 38... apparently the youngest 00 at the time. Anyway, best keep Bond to about 30-34 for the younger age range I'd say, or at least an actor should play him as such.
  • edited May 2022 Posts: 784
    I only find Dalton’s and Lazenby’s characterisations credible as ex navy commanders for some reason.

    Connery and Craig never striked me as a leaders, and Brosnan/Roger hardly ex military at all.
  • JustJamesJustJames London
    edited May 2022 Posts: 216
    Craigs age works well with a background, if you think about it. Serves in the time of The Cold War ending, Bosnia etc, late teens early twenties, works way up, is in early thirties during the war on terror. Admittedly not the greatest opportunities for naval types (maybe he was on lusty when the fridge broke) unless we are talking SBS. Moves into naval intelligence, then SIS is a sideways slide when someone gets tired of recruiting diplomats and Cambridge boys. Could possibly have served under Rimington, who was the model for Dench M to some extent.

    Edit: read the linked page. That works.
  • Posts: 937
    I see him as having worked in the Defence Intelligence department of the Navy, rather than being a sailor.
  • Bentley007Bentley007 Manitoba, Canada
    Posts: 575
    mtm wrote: »
    Ms Broccoli was asked again on Thursday about the search for a new Bond, she says it will take some time.

    https://variety.com/2022/film/news/barbara-broccoli-james-bond-daniel-craig-macbeth-1235254646/

    I have really enjoyed what Barbara and Micheal have given us but this is a bit much. Strike while the iron is hot and put out something especially during the 60th Anniversary celebration. I find their desire to have a bond film every 3-5 years really limits the potential of the films and has not improved the writing or production which always seems to be done in a hurried manner. By letting Craig have his year long ride into the sunset they are missing the opportunity to work with quite a few potential actors. I think Amazon should push them into making decisions quicker and hope they do.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    What surprises me is the actors that are fan favourites on this forum, aren't even in the discussion in articles and general coverage.
    I can see Bond #7 being somebody suggested on this forum and not being a shock to us but being a shock and not well thought of by the general public

    I think most fans on here will support whoever is cast and will reserve judgement till at least the first trailer of Bond 26 😅
  • edited May 2022 Posts: 1,075
    I'd be happy with anyone who has the acting chops, and doesn't deviate from Fleming's physical description too much.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,152
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I think most fans on here will support whoever is cast and will reserve judgement till at least the first trailer of Bond 26 😅
    Absolutely. In 2005, I already knew who Craig was and how good an actor, but I couldn't actually see him as Bond at all. And look how that turned out! Craig and CR - I can't think of a better lesson in the benefits of reserving judgement.

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited May 2022 Posts: 16,368
    mtm wrote: »
    Of course as we’ve discussed here before, Bond having the rank of Commander is also a bit of an issue in that it’s such a senior rank it’s hard to believe he’d attain it so young (and not be captaining ships!). But then I’m not a Naval expert, maybe there are commanders who are around 30.

    I was in the navy, and that was very common.

    Fair enough, thank you; that’s good to know! :)
    I only find Dalton’s and Lazenby’s characterisations credible as ex navy commanders for some reason.

    Connery and Craig never striked me as a leaders, and Brosnan/Roger hardly ex military at all.

    Oh I thought Roger was fairly convincingly officer class, and I believe he did serve in real life. Craig I buy too, but I agree about Brosnan completely- he just looks wrong in the uniform to me, like he’s dressing up.
  • edited May 2022 Posts: 784
    Kedar Williams-Stirling

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  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 4,247
    I had the strangest imagination this morning. I was very surprised with myself too, because I have never imagined it before or thought I would ever imagine it.....Asa Butterfield as James Bond.
  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    I had the strangest imagination this morning. I was very surprised with myself too, because I have never imagined it before or thought I would ever imagine it.....Asa Butterfield as James Bond.

    He, even more than Nicholas Hoult, will probably forever be a boy in my eyes, given that he was so widely known as a child actor. It doesn't help that he has a very boyish face to me. Looking at the "Gogol criteria", I can't - or rather don't want to - see him seduce anyone, let alone Monica Bellucci and I don't think he'd stand an ice cubes chance in hell against Bautista, even with all the plot armor in the world.
    He's also - looking back at the last page or so of discussions - very young at currently 25.
  • JustJamesJustJames London
    Posts: 216
    Eh, it’s been a while, and he’s gonna be put down as too old for more than a film or two, but why not give Matthew McFayden a crack at it. It’s in his wheelhouse, and if we get a more cerebral, less punchy, Bond, he would work.
  • edited May 2022 Posts: 1,661
    It's possible the next Bond actor will be of black origin. The new Doctor Who actor is black:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61371123
    Actor Ncuti Gatwa will take over from Jodie Whittaker as the star of Doctor Who, the BBC has announced.

    I think there's a reasonably high probability the next Bond will be black. It may appeal to Eon or Amazon to reinvent Bond's lineage. After all, Bond 26 is a complete reboot of the character and his world so it gives the producers a good reason to cast someone that is non-white. Regé-Jean Page is half Zimbabwean, half English. I don't think he'll be the next Bond but guys like Page and Elba have got a lot of media attention. My guess is most film goers will be fine with a black Bond. Eon could look at the casting of the new Doctor and think "if it works for Doctor Who, it can work for Bond."


  • Posts: 1,075
    They've already had a black woman 007, and a black Felix Leiter (who was a sandy-haired Texan in the books if I remember right). And a black Moneypenny. So it wouldn't surprise me if they cast a black actor for Bond.
    I wouldn't want that, as it's not how Fleming wrote the character, but most people don't see Bond as a literary character. He's just a superhero spy to most people I suppose.
  • JeremyBondonJeremyBondon Seeking out odd jobs with Oddjob @Tangier
    edited May 2022 Posts: 1,318
    That would be the end of the line regarding Bond for me. In fact my favourite Bond films are a few up to and including GoldenEye. I'd happily rewatch them ad infinitum and think *evil laugh* 'they'll never take this away from me'. True Bond, when Bond was still the guy Fleming conjured up in his brilliant mind.

    I loathe woke and I despise many aspects of all this fakeness going on the past couple of years, the urge to cancel ourselves for example. I'd like every colour to have their own 'Bond'. Their own 'hero', at least that's what it seems to be all about. I certainly didn't make it that way. I'm all about sticking to the source material and not about bending over backwards to please a toxic movement.

    Hopefully we soon can move on from these 900 pages of speculation and also a lot of silliness, to be frank. For me there is only one true heir to the throne and you know who I mean, so I'll leave it at that.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    fanbond123 wrote: »
    It's possible the next Bond actor will be of black origin. The new Doctor Who actor is black:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61371123
    Actor Ncuti Gatwa will take over from Jodie Whittaker as the star of Doctor Who, the BBC has announced.

    I think there's a reasonably high probability the next Bond will be black. It may appeal to Eon or Amazon to reinvent Bond's lineage. After all, Bond 26 is a complete reboot of the character and his world so it gives the producers a good reason to cast someone that is non-white. Regé-Jean Page is half Zimbabwean, half English. I don't think he'll be the next Bond but guys like Page and Elba have got a lot of media attention. My guess is most film goers will be fine with a black Bond. Eon could look at the casting of the new Doctor and think "if it works for Doctor Who, it can work for Bond."

    One of the first things I though of, when I heard the announcement, was if this would inspire the casting of the next Bond. The Doctor (I wish the news would stop reporting him as the new Doctor Who), isn't human, so there is no reason why they couldn't flip the whole thing on it's head, and go off in a new direction. The question is whether the right choice has been picked. For instance, you can't cast just any white actor in the role. Personally, I was hoping it might be Noel Fielding or Richard Ayoade. Oh well, maybe next time.
  • GadgetManGadgetMan Lagos, Nigeria
    edited May 2022 Posts: 4,247
    GadgetMan wrote: »
    I had the strangest imagination this morning. I was very surprised with myself too, because I have never imagined it before or thought I would ever imagine it.....Asa Butterfield as James Bond.

    He, even more than Nicholas Hoult, will probably forever be a boy in my eyes, given that he was so widely known as a child actor. It doesn't help that he has a very boyish face to me. Looking at the "Gogol criteria", I can't - or rather don't want to - see him seduce anyone, let alone Monica Bellucci and I don't think he'd stand an ice cubes chance in hell against Bautista, even with all the plot armor in the world.
    He's also - looking back at the last page or so of discussions - very young at currently 25.

    Yeah. I feel the same way too. But I still feel it's good to have a liberal mind toward these things though, because we'll know until we see it, I guess. A recent example is Pattinson's Batman.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    I'm not a big fan of changing James Bond's orgin. If you change the characters background to suit the man cast to play Bond, then you've pushed it too far in my book

    I realise there has to be allowances made to suit the man cast to play Bond, Connery's brown eyes, Daniel's height but that doesn't take me out of it. But if you have to change the whole orgin of the character and everything already established to accommodate the man cast, then in my eyes that's not what I see as James Bond.

    I would sooner them come up with a new character completely and then you're not hindered by history of the series. There won't be calls for traditional casting and so on.

    One thing no one ever mentions about casting a black actor as Bond, is the future.
    Let's say they cast Page this year. The first film has great box office, but then there's a noticeable drop off in gross in the next two films, the newness of the new direction has worn off. Do you recast with a white actor who fits Fleming's description or do you continue down the path you've set?
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    It wouldn't surprise me if they took this route. They've killed Bond off now so they'll clearly be ready to chart a new course and timeline and that could mean anything.
  • Jordo007 wrote: »
    I'm not a big fan of changing James Bond's orgin. If you change the characters background to suit the man cast to play Bond, then you've pushed it too far in my book
    I mean, would a black Bond have a different background? His father could still be a British armament company representative and his mother could still be Swiss. Not that I'm necessarily in favor of a change of ethnicity, but I don't think such change would alter the way the character is written. In the 60s sure, but not today.
  • LucknFateLucknFate 007 In New York
    edited May 2022 Posts: 1,645
    Bond has aged out of Fleming's background for the character. For a modern operative to work they will have to come up with something for the background regardless of the race of the actor. I know they won't cast someone just because; they will screen test and likely have multiple candidates, some of which happen to be of some non-white background. I'm totally fine with that. Black people can come from Scotland.

    s/n: after seeing the two Dr. Strange movies now, I'm very happy we never got Benny C. as Bond. Total lack of charisma in those movies, and likely how he'd approach Bond.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,368
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    I'm not a big fan of changing James Bond's orgin. If you change the characters background to suit the man cast to play Bond, then you've pushed it too far in my book

    I don't see what you'd have to change.
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    One thing no one ever mentions about casting a black actor as Bond, is the future.
    Let's say they cast Page this year. The first film has great box office, but then there's a noticeable drop off in gross in the next two films, the newness of the new direction has worn off. Do you recast with a white actor who fits Fleming's description or do you continue down the path you've set?

    That's the same problem with any lead actor though.
  • Posts: 12,837
    I think a black or asian actor getting it is inevitable one day, and it does seem more likely now than it ever has before. Who knows though.
    Personally, I was hoping it might be Noel Fielding or Richard Ayoade. Oh well, maybe next time.

    I’ve always liked the idea of Richard Ayoade in that role, because on the surface his persona just seems to suit it so well, but then I realised he hasn’t actually done any “serious” acting, has he? So, he might risk coming across as out of his depth compared to some of the names they’ve had in recent years.
  • JeremyBondonJeremyBondon Seeking out odd jobs with Oddjob @Tangier
    Posts: 1,318
    Fact remains, changing Bond's colour, especially in this day and age would mean bowing down to the pander brigade. A lot of people have had enough, no matter how you spin it, 'progressive' nonsense more like. No one owes anyone anything regarding race. That is what they want to make you believe, this forced sense of guilt.

    In fact, never too late to introduce a cool black character. Nomi, anyone? Even though opinions vary. Heck, go ahead and introduce a black 00. CREATE instead of hijack.
  • Posts: 12,837
    Fact remains, changing Bond's colour, especially in this day and age would mean bowing down to the pander brigade. A lot of people have had enough, no matter how you spin it, 'progressive' nonsense more like. No one owes anyone anything regarding race. That is what they want to make you believe, this forced sense of guilt.

    In fact, never too late to introduce a cool black character. Nomi, anyone? Even though opinions vary. Heck, go ahead and introduce a black 00. CREATE instead of hijack.

    Nah, not good enough, I hope they hijack Bond instead.
  • Posts: 82
    I haven’t read the whole thread, so apologies if this has been mentioned already, but, obviously, Moneypenny is now played by a (brilliant) black actor. Is that any different from Bond? Other than symbolically? There’s nothing characteristically ‘other’ now about Moneypenny that is related to ethnicity. And yet of course Bond is different. I don’t have any answers faod.
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