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I could be wrong, but I don’t think that’s what @Venutius is suggesting Jetters.
I wasn’t sold on a black James Bond until recently.
I think Sope Dirisu embodies the qualities that could make a great James Bond. The cinematic Bond has taken its own course a lot of the time, whilst keeping some of the Fleming character. But a black actor can still play those Fleming characteristics just as well.
At the end of the day it should go to the best actor for the role. Sope Dirisu, may be that actor.
60 plus years in, with having completed a very different era that brought in a ton of new fans and money, this new casting will have some major challenges.
To me Sope is the only one that has the believability to pull off the character (I don't care what he looks like, provided he has exceptional prowess, physicality, sex appeal), and I don't say this to get any "points"; I just genuinely think he brings it all to the table.
But behind the scenes, does Sope, or any actor potentially up for Bond, want a role for a decade , or more? Cameras harrassing you in your private life, following your every move, attributing quotes you didn't say, looking into your past to discover any indiscretions, or trying to find some dirt in your present life. And;
If an actor is chosen who is in his early 30s, that's a decade where many life changes happen. Some people marry long term partners and have children. Being a Bond actor during this time may not be the most pleasant experience.
On top of all of this, the actor will also have to smile pleasantly through all of this and "be" the brand, the ambassador.
It's not a simple case of having an amazing role that will change your life, but the certainty that your life will most definitely change....
I think that BookBond and FilmBond became two very different things a long time ago, tbh, and if EON cast a bloke next who looked like Hoagy Carmichael it'd please Fleming purists while baffling a lot of the movie audience. I love the books so, personally, I'd be fine with it. But at this point, I don't think it'd work for most people - most of the movie audience could well have never even read Fleming's description of Bond and I'd guess that the general impression of what Bond looks like comes from the films.
If we were just going purely on looks, I'd like the role to go to someone who resembled the traditional movie Bond - Connery, Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnan. But in the post-Craig pages of this thread, I haven't seen anyone who fits that bill. Aidan Turner may well be the closest, but there's also the train of thought that says he looks more like a Bond doll than the real thing! Of the ones immediately above, Mescal looks like he could play the copper in Heartbeat, while Elordi looks like he could be the token Brit in an '80s US soap. Nothing about either of them says 'Bond' to me. But I suspect that Craig's broken the mould and that EON no longer feel bound to cast someone who resembles Dalton, any more than Cubby and Harry felt obliged to get a guy that resembled Hoagy.
And, as Peter and Benny say, it's not just the look - last time, there was Adrian Paul who looked far more like movie Bond than anyone else did, but whose acting probably wouldn't have been up to it. Even so, I suspect that if Cubby had still been around he'd've picked Adrian over Craig any day of the week - but imagine where we'd be now if that'd happened. So, yes, it's true that Sope Dirisu doesn't look like James Bond - but, with the exception of Aidan Turner, neither do most of the other suggestions. And, unlike the others, Sope does seem to have all of the other attributes that you'd want in an actor who was playing Bond. That's what puts him at the front of the pack for me.
Get these two. Aidan’s looking good.
Of course I know that won’t happen 😣
Very Conneryesque... Lol
Aidan is still my top choice. Actually, my only choice. And for those who say he lacks presence, the man has presence enough to handle a two handed play with success, and to lead a high production tv series for severall seasons. He has the acting chops, he has the looks, the voice, the hair, the eyebrows, the charm, the charisma,… Cubby would have hired him by now, or at least have him on speed dial or under contractual promise.
But, if they still want to subvert and make a young Bond to appeal to youger audiences (which is also nonesense because young people need to aspire to be older, and to identify with older heroes), then by all means get an actor who is representative of some other ethnicity and who is in his 20s. Some Bridgerton actor. I’m sure that would make some happy for all the wrong reasons.
Why are people so embarrassed of James Bond? They are. Is Bond relevant today? Can he exist in this new world? Why the need to question what is one of the most given traits of the character? The world changes, Bond does not. He is a relic, a dinosaur. And who wouldn’t want to see a dinosaur in today’s world? I’m going full Hammond on this and I’ll say, just spare no expenses. Just do it with tha bang (bang) it deserves.
Rant over 😎 Been missing one of these.
I'd also be open to Daisy Ridley as Moneypenny, but I feel like she might be tied up with the next 150 Star Wars films.
Aidan has been my top pick for years now. I don't want subversive Bond, just give us a solid Bond and an interesting story. Not everything needs to subvert or break the mould
I agree 100% ; I can understand wanting to break the mold, but sometimes the obvious choice is the right choice.
I don’t have a set in stone image of what Bond should look like and act like , but I do have certain parameters; casting an actor who radically goes beyond what has been established would be very alienating.
My guess is had Fleming never mentioned Carmichael in Casino Royale, no fan would use him as reference. The most common reference pre the Bond film franchise was Jim Mclusky's Bond from 1958:
His Bond looked a bit like Sean Connery which is kind of amazing given that Sean Connery was cast four years later.
Ian Fleming was entitled to think Bond looked a bit like Hoagy Carmichael, that was his prerogative, but Jim Mclusky and Yaroslav Horak imagined Bond as more rugged movie star handsome.
It's possible Cubby Broccoli was consciously or subconsciously influenced by Jim Mclusky's interpretation of James Bond and fate drew him to cast Sean Connery. I think Sean Connery would be the blueprint late 1950s into 1960s image of what Bond should look like. However, we're in 2023 so things have changed.
The next Bond actor is replacing Craig not Connery so there is zero pressure on Eon to cast someone similar ish to Connery. I doubt he'll look like Hoagy Carmichael too!
A bit more glamorous and conventionally good looking, though there is something cold about the eyes.
I must admit this is how I tend to imagine Bond when I’ve read one of the novels:
Maybe we could get an animated Bond film and skip the worries about casting?
Hoagy looks like Fleming in that picture.
Dalton's hair stops me from doing the same (too long for the 50s). Though I probably wouldn't anyway. Literary Bond is a different character for me.
And why is that?
Because it's very annoying to scroll though, forcing your preferences on everyone.
The whole idea of this thread is to suggest potential actors who we think could be James Bond.
Obviously some members have an actor who they have in mind that has been repeated multiple times, but then I think we're all guilty of that. ;)
To each his own , but as stated by Benny, no one’s forcing anyone upon anyone. While there may have been occasions where someone was a bit heavy handed in posting photos, in general most members do it within reason. I enjoy seeing photos; often actors, with whom I’m not familiar, are suggested and it’s nice to see a picture.
An animated Bond series is the worst I can think of.
Yes, ok fair enough.
And I'm not saying the next actor has too look like Hoagy either, but I would like the next actor to resemble traditional cinematic Bond, either someone like Aidan Turner (Connery/Laz mould) or ATJ (Dalton/Brozza mould).