Which actor would make a good Bond villain?

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  • Posts: 6,710
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I generally prefer veteran European actors for Bond villains.
    Yes, I too agree with this.
  • sandbagger1sandbagger1 Sussex
    Posts: 950
    I watch a lot of subtitled film and TV shows, but the thing is knowing which of these great actors actually can act in English, as I don't think we'll ever get a Bond film with more than a few minutes of subtitles.
  • Posts: 6,710
    I’ve always loved Mads’ accent. His english got better throughout the years, but thankfully he kept that creepy lisped accent.
  • Posts: 15,229
    I watch a lot of subtitled film and TV shows, but the thing is knowing which of these great actors actually can act in English, as I don't think we'll ever get a Bond film with more than a few minutes of subtitles.

    That can be determined with an audition.

    I'd add to my previous comment that I prefer when the actor playing the villain is also relatively unknown internationally.
  • sandbagger1sandbagger1 Sussex
    Posts: 950
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I watch a lot of subtitled film and TV shows, but the thing is knowing which of these great actors actually can act in English, as I don't think we'll ever get a Bond film with more than a few minutes of subtitles.

    That can be determined with an audition.

    I don’t think you understood my point. :(
  • Posts: 15,229
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I watch a lot of subtitled film and TV shows, but the thing is knowing which of these great actors actually can act in English, as I don't think we'll ever get a Bond film with more than a few minutes of subtitles.

    That can be determined with an audition.

    I don’t think you understood my point. :(

    From what I understood you mean his acting skills can be lessened if he doesn't speak in his native language? Correct me if I'm wrong.
  • sandbagger1sandbagger1 Sussex
    Posts: 950
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I watch a lot of subtitled film and TV shows, but the thing is knowing which of these great actors actually can act in English, as I don't think we'll ever get a Bond film with more than a few minutes of subtitles.

    That can be determined with an audition.

    I don’t think you understood my point. :(

    From what I understood you mean his acting skills can be lessened if he doesn't speak in his native language? Correct me if I'm wrong.
    No, what I meant was I feel stupid saying actor X would be perfect for a Bond villain if I don't even know if they speak English. Nicholas Ofczarek is great in the Austrian/German police series Der Pass (aka Pagan Peak), but is he a good suggestion if he doesn't speak English? Dito for Korean actor Cha Seung-won, who I've seen in several roles now, but again, is it worth me throwing his name into the mix if I don't know if he speaks English? .

    I felt one problem the cancelled Netflix show 1899 had was that it had brought together all these talented actors from various international shows, but they were limited to acting against other actors who spoke the same language. I think more English-as-a-first-language speakers are getting more open to watching drama that is subtitled, but I don't think it's enough that we'll get a Bond film that has more than 5 minutes of subtitles, and even if we did, I think if two actors are not able to communicate in one language it makes playing against each other difficult (not impossible, mind you).

    Obviously an audition would decide one way or another if an actor can speak English, but until then I just feel a bit funny making suggestions that might be totally non-viable for basic reasons.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,511
    Chris Pine is not often an actor I think about until I'm actually watching him.

    And whether he plays a hero (StartTrek), or an anti hero (Hell or High Water), I always marvel at his value. He is one helluva solid and consistent performer.

    I found him downright creepy in Don't Worry Darling, and would love to see him as the lead villain in the new Bond era.

    He'd be older than the new Bond, but not by too much. He's in great shape and could pose a physical, as well as an intellectual match against the younger double-0....

    It seems that whatever role Pine plays, his effort is always at the forefront, so he has the talent and charisma to pull off someone truly haunting, a physical and mental match for Bond, and he'd help elevate the entire project by being the opposite force of nature to whomever picks up the tuxedo...

    I never give Pine enough credit, but I'd certainly plunk down my $$ to see him give Bond a run for his money... (And there haven't been too many American villains in the series (Savalas, Kotto, Walken, Baker, Davi, Malek. Not a bad rogues gallery, minus Baker and to others, Malek))
  • Posts: 15,229
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    I watch a lot of subtitled film and TV shows, but the thing is knowing which of these great actors actually can act in English, as I don't think we'll ever get a Bond film with more than a few minutes of subtitles.

    That can be determined with an audition.

    I don’t think you understood my point. :(

    From what I understood you mean his acting skills can be lessened if he doesn't speak in his native language? Correct me if I'm wrong.
    No, what I meant was I feel stupid saying actor X would be perfect for a Bond villain if I don't even know if they speak English. Nicholas Ofczarek is great in the Austrian/German police series Der Pass (aka Pagan Peak), but is he a good suggestion if he doesn't speak English? Dito for Korean actor Cha Seung-won, who I've seen in several roles now, but again, is it worth me throwing his name into the mix if I don't know if he speaks English? .

    I felt one problem the cancelled Netflix show 1899 had was that it had brought together all these talented actors from various international shows, but they were limited to acting against other actors who spoke the same language. I think more English-as-a-first-language speakers are getting more open to watching drama that is subtitled, but I don't think it's enough that we'll get a Bond film that has more than 5 minutes of subtitles, and even if we did, I think if two actors are not able to communicate in one language it makes playing against each other difficult (not impossible, mind you).

    Obviously an audition would decide one way or another if an actor can speak English, but until then I just feel a bit funny making suggestions that might be totally non-viable for basic reasons.

    Nowadays it's very rare to find actors who don't have at least a functional knowledge of English, although not always enough to be comfortable acting in English at their full capacity, so to speak. Again, an audition would determine it.
  • Informe_James_BondInforme_James_Bond Dominican Republic
    Posts: 112
    The last three villains have been played by Oscar-winning actors...
    • Javier Bardem
    • Christoph Waltz
    • Rami Malek

    ...it would be interesting if Cillian Murphy is the next villain (with Nolan as director)

    ;)
  • DoctorKaufmannDoctorKaufmann Can shoot you from Stuttgart and still make it look like suicide.
    Posts: 1,261
    I apologize in advance, but someone put this up on Social Media. Introduce the Spang Brothers, as they have never be seen before. 432664049_1531007057468358_4588626955162827802_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296&_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=fje9yUwUbyQAX_DxWId&_nc_oc=AQnaHLoU8BX2qSHOw9F_fxmOLqE1Zx70ySoyRzTWA_5t8ht7plr0IOTjq9YsobW304A&_nc_ht=scontent-fra3-2.xx&oh=00_AfC-lEPsuXajbsCniBAjLI0EPRb3Bdi34JFKeedpRiP3WA&oe=65FA30A9
  • Posts: 15,229
    Watching the Roman Empire Netflix series and so many actors in it could play Bond villains, either main ones or henchmen. And it's narrated by Sean Bean. There's a few fine looking ladies who could make great Bond girls too, they are suitably beautiful and exotic.

    Oh and I'm also watching South African crime series Ludik, with Arnold Vosloo. Apart from Vosloo himself, there are a number of very capable actors there with good "villainous" faces, all veteran actors but pretty much unknown.
  • sandbagger1sandbagger1 Sussex
    Posts: 950
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Oh and I'm also watching South African crime series Ludik, with Arnold Vosloo. Apart from Vosloo himself, there are a number of very capable actors there with good "villainous" faces, all veteran actors but pretty much unknown.

    Yeah, SA actor Steven John Ward who plays Mihawk on the Netflix show One Piece has great Bond villain potential, having a very Dalton-esque look, but more evil. Could be a great counterpart to Bond.
  • Posts: 15,229
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Oh and I'm also watching South African crime series Ludik, with Arnold Vosloo. Apart from Vosloo himself, there are a number of very capable actors there with good "villainous" faces, all veteran actors but pretty much unknown.

    Yeah, SA actor Steven John Ward who plays Mihawk on the Netflix show One Piece has great Bond villain potential, having a very Dalton-esque look, but more evil. Could be a great counterpart to Bond.

    He's a bit young for a main villain though.

    I thought Jandre Le Roux could be a suitably menacing henchman, maybe even a main villain if he's got the acting chops. Rob van Vuuren has a creepy face and the right age. Zane Meas is good too, although he looks like such a nice guy I'm not certain he'd work as a villain.
  • Posts: 15,229
    Watching Heart of the Hunter on Netflix. There's a few actors there who could play Bond villains, main ones or henchmen.
  • Posts: 15,229
    I probably said it before but Sam Troughton. He was great in Sam Mendes' 2014 take on King Lear. I always imagined he'd make a more menacing, creepier Denbigh. Now that he matured,,he'd be the perfect age to be a Bond villain.
  • Posts: 1,650
    Jessica Chastain was asked if she'd like to portray Bond and she said nay, and that she'd much rather torture Bond. She has expressed a desire, then, to portray either a Bond Villain, or a Villain's Henchperson -- or a bureaucrat who puts Bond through training and paperwork and berates Bond for his treatment of government property, ranging from Supercars to paper clips. In other words - who tortures him. As such a bureaucrat would know, torture is worse for the victim if you keep them alive, and thereby get to torture them more, and more, and more...
  • sandbagger1sandbagger1 Sussex
    Posts: 950
    Since62 wrote: »
    Jessica Chastain was asked if she'd like to portray Bond and she said nay, and that she'd much rather torture Bond. She has expressed a desire, then, to portray either a Bond Villain, or a Villain's Henchperson -- or a bureaucrat who puts Bond through training and paperwork and berates Bond for his treatment of government property, ranging from Supercars to paper clips. In other words - who tortures him. As such a bureaucrat would know, torture is worse for the victim if you keep them alive, and thereby get to torture them more, and more, and more...
    One of the most entertainingly hissable villains I've come across in spy fiction was an SIS-employed lawyer named "Bunny" in le Carré's A Legacy of Spies. Tom Hollander's narration in the audiobook gives him a kind of Leslie Phillips' smarmy charm, and as the story progresses his 'friendliness' becomes more and more hostile as he tries to fit protagonist Peter Guillam for a frame as an unprofessional and irresponsible agent responsible for several deaths that SIS is being sued for. I think something similar could work for Bond, though with Bond I think it would have to be a sub-plot.
  • sandbagger1sandbagger1 Sussex
    Posts: 950
    Have I suggested Walton Goggins as a bad guy before? He is admittedly almost type-cast a charismatic villain, but watching Fallout has reminded me he's good at it.
  • TheSkyfallen06TheSkyfallen06 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    Posts: 1,127
    I already suggested him in the past.
    Anthony Starr, he could make up for a very menacing villain. For me, at least.
  • Posts: 2,026
    My Rogues gallery.

    Babs Olusanmokun
    Chris Pine (I agree, Peter)
    Lars Mikkelsen
    Dave Chappell
    Ricky Gervais
    Nicola Walker
    Wilem DaFoe
    Stellan Skarsgård
    Michael Stuhlbarg
    Luis Guzman


  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,511
    Oh, nice @CrabKey ... Yes, Pine would be excellent. Some interesting choices with Chappelle and Gervais.

    I do like Skarsgard, always have. And he can play cruel sadists very well. I'm also a big fan of one of his boys, Bill.

    There's something appealing about Nicola Walker, and although I never thought of her as a potential antagonist, seeing her name now I think is a good shout...
  • edited June 23 Posts: 17,819
    Always liked Nicola Walker. Great actress. She currently plays Annika Strandhed in Annika, which is more or less your typical British crime drama with a twist, as Annika at some point in every episode breaks the fourth wall and talks straight to the viewer, making the viewer her confidant, sort of.
  • Posts: 15,229
    Trond Espen Seim....although he might look too soft without a beard. But I quite liked him in Cape Town.
  • Posts: 2,026
    At the point of sounding like a fan boy, I love Nicola Walker. My first exposure to her was an episode of Bailey & Scott, in which she played an unhinged revenge/kidnapper. So interesting and watchable. And then I started finding everything else she's been in. Paired with the right writing concept, she could prove a formidable villain. But she could also make an interesting M quite a bit different from JD.
  • Posts: 17,819
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Trond Espen Seim....although he might look too soft without a beard. But I quite liked him in Cape Town.

    That's a good shout actually. A bit different looking Seim can be seen in the recent NRK production Makta (Power Play).
    CrabKey wrote: »
    At the point of sounding like a fan boy, I love Nicola Walker. My first exposure to her was an episode of Bailey & Scott, in which she played an unhinged revenge/kidnapper. So interesting and watchable. And then I started finding everything else she's been in. Paired with the right writing concept, she could prove a formidable villain. But she could also make an interesting M quite a bit different from JD.

    Never thought about that, but I agree, she could be great as M!
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,693
    https://x.com/latimes/status/1839039674347827695

    Yes, please, one day. Before the MCU takes her.
  • Bentley007Bentley007 Manitoba, Canada
    Posts: 581
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    https://x.com/latimes/status/1839039674347827695

    Yes, please, one day. Before the MCU takes her.

    Can you imagine the onscreen tension if Saoirse was the Villian and Jack Lowden was Bond??
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,693
    https://x.com/saoirsefiles/status/1843292665645027389

    I just gained more respect for her.
  • HasanDaferHasanDafer Baghdad, Iraq
    Posts: 65
    Willem Dafoe absolutely needs to play a villain in a Bond film. He’s proven time and again that he can deliver a brilliantly unhinged, menacing performance—let’s just ignore Speed 2 for a moment, though! Another perfect candidate is Hugo Weaving. He has that subtle, controlled intensity that would be ideal for a cold, calculating antagonist. Christian Bale would also be a phenomenal choice. His versatility is unmatched, and I can easily see him portraying a villain with complex motivations, someone whose depth challenges Bond on both a physical and psychological level.

    Antony Starr has the perfect look for a Bond villain, with his piercing gaze and ability to switch from charismatic to terrifying in a heartbeat. And let’s not forget Denzel Washington. It’s honestly surprising he’s never been in the running for a Bond villain role before. His screen presence alone would make him a formidable adversary, bringing a level of sophistication and gravitas that could rival any of Bond's previous enemies. Then there’s Idris Elba—while he’s been frequently mentioned as a potential Bond, I personally think he’d excel as a villain. His commanding presence and charisma could create a truly iconic adversary.

    And can we talk about female villains? Bond films need more of them! Charlize Theron would absolutely crush it as a femme fatale—dangerous, elegant, and utterly ruthless. Lena Headey, with her ability to play icy, complex characters, would also be perfect. And while this may seem like a wild suggestion, hear me out: Meryl Streep. I know it’s a bit unconventional, but she’s such an extraordinary actress, she could easily bring depth and nuance to a villainous role. Why not give her the chance to surprise us?

    The next Bond film could use a shake-up in the villain department, and these actors would be perfect for the job.
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