Which actor would make a good Bond villain?

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  • TheQueensPeaceTheQueensPeace That's Classified
    Posts: 74
    Claes Bang; David Tennant; Guy Pearce; Peter Dinklage; Christian Bale; Russell Crowe
  • Posts: 7,500
    Joe Pesci
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,518
    A little off topic, but I was watching a clip of the Dick Cavett show:

    And apparently Robert Shaw was in a play with Donald Pleasence. What a combo!
    EDIT:
  • AceHoleAceHole Belgium, via Britain
    Posts: 1,727
    Claes Bang; David Tennant; Guy Pearce; Peter Dinklage; Christian Bale; Russell Crowe

    Bang on.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,518
    Maybe uninteresting to everyone, but I just re-read Octopussy, and this man jumped straight into my head as a perfect Dexter Smythe:

    Anthony-Head-anthony-stewart-head-40628849-1024-768.png

    Anthony Head. Any Octopussy fans out there think this would be cool? @Birdleson, can't for the life of me remember if you've mentioned before you're a fan of this short story but I feel like you did mention it at some point. Just when they're running through Smythe's life story up until his arrival in Jamaica, seemed to fit really well for me.

    Anyways, he'd probably be a good villain in a Bond film generally.
  • BirdlesonBirdleson Moderator
    Posts: 2,161
    Yes, I am a big fan of the short story, and basically all of Fleming’s short stories. I don’t know who that guy is, but I’m willing to give them a try. I always pictured a dumpier old English officer such as C Aubrey Smith in the role. But since Smith has been dead for 73 years I guess we should go with yours.
  • Posts: 7,500
    Maybe uninteresting to everyone, but I just re-read Octopussy, and this man jumped straight into my head as a perfect Dexter Smythe:

    Anthony-Head-anthony-stewart-head-40628849-1024-768.png

    Anthony Head. Any Octopussy fans out there think this would be cool? @Birdleson, can't for the life of me remember if you've mentioned before you're a fan of this short story but I feel like you did mention it at some point. Just when they're running through Smythe's life story up until his arrival in Jamaica, seemed to fit really well for me.

    Anyways, he'd probably be a good villain in a Bond film generally.


    Wasn't Spectre the attempt at including Octopussy in a Bond film? Can't imagine they will do it again for some time...
  • StarkStark France
    Posts: 177
    According to The Sun, Idris Elba is reportedly in talks to star in Bond 26 as the vilain. The Sun sometimes has good sources (they were the first to reveal Craig's injury) and Elba is Fukunaga's favorite actor so that seems credible to me.

    PS : Is there a Bond 26 production diary forum on the site to talk about the rumors that are coming out ?
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,518
    jobo wrote: »
    Maybe uninteresting to everyone, but I just re-read Octopussy, and this man jumped straight into my head as a perfect Dexter Smythe:

    Anthony-Head-anthony-stewart-head-40628849-1024-768.png

    Anthony Head. Any Octopussy fans out there think this would be cool? @Birdleson, can't for the life of me remember if you've mentioned before you're a fan of this short story but I feel like you did mention it at some point. Just when they're running through Smythe's life story up until his arrival in Jamaica, seemed to fit really well for me.

    Anyways, he'd probably be a good villain in a Bond film generally.


    Wasn't Spectre the attempt at including Octopussy in a Bond film? Can't imagine they will do it again for some time...

    Spectre lifted the Oberhauser bit from Octopussy, of course, but that's it. Major Dexter Smythe is also mentioned in the film Octopussy.

    And I agree, I doubt they will as well. It was just a thought I had as I was reading the book.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,518
    Stark wrote: »
    According to The Sun, Idris Elba is reportedly in talks to star in Bond 26 as the vilain. The Sun sometimes has good sources (they were the first to reveal Craig's injury) and Elba is Fukunaga's favorite actor so that seems credible to me.

    PS : Is there a Bond 26 production diary forum on the site to talk about the rumors that are coming out ?

    I'm more excited about the sideways-implication here that Fukunaga will return.
  • Posts: 14,800
    Stark wrote: »
    According to The Sun, Idris Elba is reportedly in talks to star in Bond 26 as the vilain. The Sun sometimes has good sources (they were the first to reveal Craig's injury) and Elba is Fukunaga's favorite actor so that seems credible to me.

    PS : Is there a Bond 26 production diary forum on the site to talk about the rumors that are coming out ?

    I think given Idris Elba's name being thrown around for Bond in the past (and still), I'd take this article with a bucket of salt, but he would make a fantastic Mr Big as depicted in the novel. He just needs to get a few pounds heavier.
  • Informe_James_BondInforme_James_Bond Dominican Republic
    Posts: 51
    My list for the BOND 26 villain:

    * Michael Fassbender
    * Gary Oldman
    * Jeremy Iron
    * Jason Isaac
    * Ben Mendelsohn
    * Helena Bonham Carter

    ;)
  • edited November 2021 Posts: 207
    My list for the BOND 26 villain:

    * Michael Fassbender
    * Gary Oldman
    * Jeremy Iron
    * Jason Isaac
    * Ben Mendelsohn
    * Helena Bonham Carter

    ;)

    I think Gary Oldman would also make a great M.

    Agree on Jason Isaacs.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    R.1dbae9836d577a82bb02a3c0a2636db8?rik=brNf4VVlsgRqQg&riu=http%3a%2f%2flivesicilia.it%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f09%2fJack-Nicholson.jpg&ehk=UkyWA3c4%2bsgDlmo1nt9E4fbVLX5ySUbzfq3R3yIqICs%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,053
    R.1dbae9836d577a82bb02a3c0a2636db8?rik=brNf4VVlsgRqQg&riu=http%3a%2f%2flivesicilia.it%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f09%2fJack-Nicholson.jpg&ehk=UkyWA3c4%2bsgDlmo1nt9E4fbVLX5ySUbzfq3R3yIqICs%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

    I thought Jack would have been a great Scaramanga. Now, he’s got memory problems unfortunately. Financially, he’s been set for a long time.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    R.1dbae9836d577a82bb02a3c0a2636db8?rik=brNf4VVlsgRqQg&riu=http%3a%2f%2flivesicilia.it%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f09%2fJack-Nicholson.jpg&ehk=UkyWA3c4%2bsgDlmo1nt9E4fbVLX5ySUbzfq3R3yIqICs%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0

    I thought Jack would have been a great Scaramanga. Now, he’s got memory problems unfortunately. Financially, he’s been set for a long time.

    Scaramanga-I can see that work. Or Milton Krest.
  • edited December 2021 Posts: 7
    Bradley Cooper as a elon Musk/Jeff Bezos type with a shade of drax zorin and/or stromberg
  • Posts: 1,545
    Nicholson already portrayed an Assassin for hire. Years ago. Prizzi's Honor, 1985. Man, it's been 12 years since a film of his was released. Wow.
  • Posts: 1,545
    Anyway - as Scaramanga ? At any point in Jack N's career ? Nope. Great actor, but didn't play outside his range. Scaramanga in the book is of Spanish descent. One could think so, um, generously, of Christopher Lee, but not Jack Nicholson. So, unless you have a different Scaramanga in mind, nope. And - if you do - then what's with the name ? Daddy married an American lady and their kid grew up in the US ? Just because someone is a great actor does not mean they can cover all sorts of range.
  • ThunderballThunderball playing Chemin de Fer in a casino, downing Vespers
    edited March 2022 Posts: 776
    Someone floated Chiwetel Ejiofor on this forum some time ago, and I can't remember if it was as Bond or as the villain. I'd like to see him as the latter.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited March 2022 Posts: 2,897
    Wasn't he lined up for SP when Lodge had Blofeld as an African warlord? Chiwetel, I mean, not Jack!
  • Posts: 14,800
    Someone floated Chiwetel Ejiofor on this forum some time ago, and I can't remember if it was as Bond or as the villain. I'd like to see him as the latter.

    When SP was in its "genesis" stage, Ejiofor was mentioned as a potential villain. I think he was considered for Denbigh, not Blofeld, but I might be wrong. I didn't want him as Blofeld and, while he would have made a better Denbigh than Andrew Scott (I'm not a fan), I always thought he looked too soft to play a Bond villain.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,053
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Someone floated Chiwetel Ejiofor on this forum some time ago, and I can't remember if it was as Bond or as the villain. I'd like to see him as the latter.

    When SP was in its "genesis" stage, Ejiofor was mentioned as a potential villain. I think he was considered for Denbigh, not Blofeld, but I might be wrong. I didn't want him as Blofeld and, while he would have made a better Denbigh than Andrew Scott (I'm not a fan), I always thought he looked too soft to play a Bond villain.

    He could still make a great Mr. Big.
    Since62 wrote: »
    Anyway - as Scaramanga ? At any point in Jack N's career ? Nope. Great actor, but didn't play outside his range. Scaramanga in the book is of Spanish descent. One could think so, um, generously, of Christopher Lee, but not Jack Nicholson. So, unless you have a different Scaramanga in mind, nope. And - if you do - then what's with the name ? Daddy married an American lady and their kid grew up in the US ? Just because someone is a great actor does not mean they can cover all sorts of range.

    I could see Jack Nicholson being a decent Scaramanga. Both in the movie we got, or if the novel was more faithfully adapted.
  • Posts: 14,800
    @MaxCasino Apart from being also Black, I see very little similarities, if any at all, between Ejiofor and Mr Big. Big should look more brutish, in physique as well as in demeanour. Idris Elba I could easily imagine as Mr Big. Maybe, and that's a big maybe, Lucian Msamati (not quite the brutish physique, but his face can look quite creepy).
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    Posts: 4,053
    Ludovico wrote: »
    @MaxCasino Apart from being also Black, I see very little similarities, if any at all, between Ejiofor and Mr Big. Big should look more brutish, in physique as well as in demeanour. Idris Elba I could easily imagine as Mr Big. Maybe, and that's a big maybe, Lucian Msamati (not quite the brutish physique, but his face can look quite creepy).

    I was going to say Elba, but I thought he may have been a little obvious.
  • Posts: 14,800
    MaxCasino wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    @MaxCasino Apart from being also Black, I see very little similarities, if any at all, between Ejiofor and Mr Big. Big should look more brutish, in physique as well as in demeanour. Idris Elba I could easily imagine as Mr Big. Maybe, and that's a big maybe, Lucian Msamati (not quite the brutish physique, but his face can look quite creepy).

    I was going to say Elba, but I thought he may have been a little obvious.

    He might be obvious, but that's what would make the casting work imo. Sadly as he pushed himself too hard to be Bond, I doubt he'll ever play a Bond villain.
  • DeathToSpies84DeathToSpies84 Haydock, England
    edited March 2022 Posts: 254
    Gary Oldman (Imagine him as a Bond villain in the 90’s. He would have been excellent)

    Anthony Hopkins

    Adam Driver

    Tom Hardy

    Rooney Mara (Intimidating in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And would be a great henchwoman who can give Bond a run for his money.)
  • edited March 2022 Posts: 784
    Rooney Mara (Intimidating in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And would be a great henchwoman who can give Bond a run for his money.)

    I really like Rooney and the idea of a menacing female villain.

    Otherwise

    Willem Dafoe
    Steve Buscemi
    Michael Emerson
    Nicholas Cage
    Jeffrey Jones
    Ciaran Hinds
    Malcolm McDowell
    Jimmy Smits
    Randy Quaid
    Mel Gibson
    Crispin Glover
    Joaquin Pheonix

    Anyone who looks creepy af and would act equally creepy. I think most bond villains have been massively underutilised, likewise their henchmen, even though they really should steal the show. Le Chiffre's characterisation worked well, mostly because one empathised with his predicament, Bardem's Silva not so much (what made him great in the Cohen flick was being an all out psycho). After his two Tarantino successes you take Cristopher Waltz and give him some of the shittiest writing in cinema and wonder why things didn't go swell. If you go with safe cards at least play to their strengths.
  • Posts: 2,753
    Depends on the kind of villain the Bond film will go for (ie. are they more a physical or intellectual match for Bond etc.) If, for example, the villain was more a Goldfinger or Hugo Drax type, I'd go for...

    Jesse Plemmons

    Jesse-Plemons-as-Jake-in-Im-Thinking-of-Ending-Things.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=963&h=481&dpr=1.5

    The guy's been around a while now, and I suspect most people have seen his work on Breaking Bad. He's also been in Black Mirror and a number of films, usually playing villains or at least questionable characters. Reminds me of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Can definitely see him as a Bond villain.

    Another actor who I can see playing an interesting villain is...

    Louis Garrel

    0465eab46b72ab0f6bf11ff94d132728.jpg

    Seen him in a couple of French films, very good actor. I can see him playing a villain in the vein of Silva or even the type of villain Largo was in the Fleming novel. We've had so many villains with overt facial scars/horrific backstories that it'd be nice to shake it up a bit and have a good looking but otherwise sociopathic baddie.
  • DeathToSpies84DeathToSpies84 Haydock, England
    Posts: 254
    Rooney Mara (Intimidating in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And would be a great henchwoman who can give Bond a run for his money.)

    I really like Rooney and the idea of a menacing female villain.

    Otherwise

    Willem Dafoe
    Steve Buscemi
    Michael Emerson
    Nicholas Cage
    Jeffrey Jones
    Ciaran Hinds
    Malcolm McDowell
    Jimmy Smits
    Randy Quaid
    Mel Gibson
    Crispin Glover

    Anyone who looks creepy af and would act equally creepy. I think most bond villains have been massively underutilised, likewise their henchmen, even though they really should steal the show. Le Chiffre's characterisation worked well, mostly because one empathised with his predicament, Bardem's Silva not so much (what made him great in the Cohen flick was being an all out psycho). After his two Tarantino successes you take Cristopher Waltz and give him some of the shittiest writing in cinema and wonder why things didn't go swell. If you go with safe cards at least play to their strengths.

    Dafoe would have been an excellent villain in the Dalton/Brosnan era. He can do unhinged roles well.

    Imagine a thirty something McDowell squaring off with Sir Roger’s Bond. His boisterous approach would have been an excellent counterpoint to Roger’s gentlemanly manner.
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