Who should/could be a Bond actor?

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Comments

  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,608
    It’s unrealistic to deny that, when it comes to height, there upper and lower limits ; a 5’6” actor will never be cast. On the other end of the spectrum, it’s highly unlikely that a 6’6” actor would get the job. If this were to be illustrated in a graphic, there would be a green middle that would transition to red on either end.
  • edited September 5 Posts: 5,877
    Perhaps they should do that for the actors when screen-tests roll around. At the door their height, jaw, and ear size will be taken and plotted on a graph. A 5'10 actor with moderately large ears and a somewhat square jawline without a beard is acceptable. But should his ears go into the red or his height is even an inch above 6'2 that's an automatic disqualification.
  • Posts: 442
    An actor can be 5'10" and have incredible screen presence, or 6'4" and look awkward on camera.
  • BennyBenny Shaken not stirredAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 15,535
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    Elordi is too Australian

    @Jordo007 I hope you know I value your input.
    But how is Elordi too Australian?
    He’s got rave reviews in several of his parts. Whilst he is a little on the tall side, I don’t think he should be ruled out.
    Even if he is Australian.
    I know for a fact that Heath Ledger was considered after Pierce was let go.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 543
    Benny wrote: »
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    Elordi is too Australian

    @Jordo007 I hope you know I value your input.
    But how is Elordi too Australian?
    He’s got rave reviews in several of his parts. Whilst he is a little on the tall side, I don’t think he should be ruled out.
    Even if he is Australian.
    I know for a fact that Heath Ledger was considered after Pierce was let go.
    I think Ledger was too "blond" for Bond but otherwise great suggestion.

  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,870
    Benny wrote: »
    Jordo007 wrote: »
    Elordi is too Australian

    @Jordo007 I hope you know I value your input.
    But how is Elordi too Australian?
    He’s got rave reviews in several of his parts. Whilst he is a little on the tall side, I don’t think he should be ruled out.
    Even if he is Australian.
    I know for a fact that Heath Ledger was considered after Pierce was let go.

    Ahh sorry my fault, I should have made it more clear it was a joke. Everyone was talking about actors being "too short" "too tall"
  • Posts: 253
    He's got an unreadable face, bit of a mystery. Seen an interview months back where he was honoured to be included in the casting talk. But Bond's heart is Welsh.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    edited September 6 Posts: 543
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited September 6 Posts: 3,344
    Probably, tbf. In terms of sheer acting ability, Craig's several rungs above the others that tested so the rest of them were very much at a disadvantage there. Craig also said that he decided not to try to 'impersonate' James Bond, but to play the scenes and interpret the character as he would if it was a role he was up for that didn't have all that cultural baggage attached. I can see how that could've given his test an individuality that wouldn't have been there if he'd been trying to actually 'play' the established character of Bond.
    Aside from all that, though, Craig's screentests were probably little more than a formality - after all, he even refused one of Campbell's direct requests ('No, I'm not going to do that - you do it!') and went home halfway through because he was 'bored'. That suggests that he didn't think that everything was riding on the outcome of the screentest. Maybe because BB and MGW had already told him to his face that they weren't just asking him to audition, they actually wanted him to take the role ('we want you to do this'). Craig's screentests would've had to be pretty disastrous for the studios to go against EON's wishes.
  • Posts: 2,350
    Craig played the cinematic Bond. I don't think he could pretend no one had done it before.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,344
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?
  • Posts: 16,076
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?

    Little I saw of the other auditions... yes. Boy some of them were terrible.
  • Posts: 2,350
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?

    I think there's a lot of Connery's coolness in his performance. Fleming's Bond isn't really like that.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,608
    Based somewhat on what happed to Pierce, it occurred to me, as the time is approaching to cast a new Bond, actors are in a tricky position of signing for future projects that could interfere with their getting the role. On one hand they can't put everything on hold with the hope that they will land the Bond role, but they also don't want to be locked into something that would prevent it.

    Almost anything can be written into a contract, I wonder if any will have a "Bond Clause" that would free them if they were to get the 007 gig.

    I know nothing about how these things are handled, just wondering.
  • Posts: 442
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?

    No one said anything like that.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 543
    Ludovico wrote: »
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?

    Little I saw of the other auditions... yes. Boy some of them were terrible.
    Whos were terrible?

  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    Posts: 3,344
    M_Blaise wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?
    No one said anything like that.
    Except when Deke quite literally said 'I don't think he could pretend'?
  • edited September 7 Posts: 16,076
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?

    Little I saw of the other auditions... yes. Boy some of them were terrible.
    Whos were terrible?

    Can't remember the names, but there were a few that were really painful, like the bloke had just entered a pub. I commented on this thread about it. I do remember thinking Sam Worthintgon particularly wasn't good.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited September 7 Posts: 19,004
    echo wrote: »

    Wow I’m surprised it’s been shown already, it’s not out for ages. They must be confident in it.
    I guess to be fair it sounds like O’Connor is basically the lead; although he’s the detective, Blanc is kind of always the secondary character in the ones that we’ve seen so far. I’m sure Craig steals the occasional scene just as he has in the last couple.

    O’Connor is really good though, I wouldn’t rule him out of Bond at all if he wants it.
  • Posts: 442
    Venutius wrote: »
    M_Blaise wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?
    No one said anything like that.
    Except when Deke quite literally said 'I don't think he could pretend'?

    Deke comments don't usually mean much with or without context.
  • edited September 7 Posts: 5,877
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?

    I think there's a lot of Connery's coolness in his performance. Fleming's Bond isn't really like that.

    I think a lot of that’s on the page based on how the character has developed in films (the Bond of Fleming’s CR doesn’t act quite like the version Craig played, even if the latter’s an adaptation. The cinematic version is much more quippy and outwardly more relaxed).

    Anyway, I can see where Craig was coming from when he said he simply approached Bond as any other character. I don’t get the sense he was studying the other Bond performances (which I can imagine a number of actors doing).
    Ludovico wrote: »
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?

    Little I saw of the other auditions... yes. Boy some of them were terrible.

    Worthington’s was rough. Wasn’t hugely impressed with Cavill’s but you could tell he was adapting his performance with each take. The other ones were fine but not quite right.

    Those were just line readings though to whittle down first line candidates. They’re often varied anyway and there were probably tens of dozens of those with lesser knowns.
  • LucknFateLucknFate 007 In New York
    Posts: 2,123
    Harris Dickinson X Audi... not sure he has the Bond voice or walk.
  • Posts: 18,159
    His voice is a bit… flat, isn't it?
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,608
    Voice is so important; it’s such a shame that so many young actors have such unexceptionable, thin voices.
  • edited September 7 Posts: 2,350
    007HallY wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?

    I think there's a lot of Connery's coolness in his performance. Fleming's Bond isn't really like that.

    I think a lot of that’s on the page based on how the character has developed in films (the Bond of Fleming’s CR doesn’t act quite like the version Craig played, even if the latter’s an adaptation. The cinematic version is much more quippy and outwardly more relaxed).

    Anyway, I can see where Craig was coming from when he said he simply approached Bond as any other character. I don’t get the sense he was studying the other Bond performances (which I can imagine a number of actors doing).
    Ludovico wrote: »
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?

    Little I saw of the other auditions... yes. Boy some of them were terrible.

    Worthington’s was rough. Wasn’t hugely impressed with Cavill’s but you could tell he was adapting his performance with each take. The other ones were fine but not quite right.

    Those were just line readings though to whittle down first line candidates. They’re often varied anyway and there were probably tens of dozens of those with lesser knowns.

    Yes, Craig played the cinematic Bond. At least he knew Bond had to be a cool guy, not a John Le Carré-esque character.

    I would even say that he overplayed the panther's walk.
  • edited September 7 Posts: 5,877
    Why so all these adverts with celebrities have weirdly serious voice overs about nothing and are either shot in black and white or on 16mm? Like some sort of bizarre corporate Terrence Malick/arthouse thing.
    007HallY wrote: »
    Venutius wrote: »
    An actor of Craig's calibre couldn't 'pretend'?

    I think there's a lot of Connery's coolness in his performance. Fleming's Bond isn't really like that.

    I think a lot of that’s on the page based on how the character has developed in films (the Bond of Fleming’s CR doesn’t act quite like the version Craig played, even if the latter’s an adaptation. The cinematic version is much more quippy and outwardly more relaxed).

    Anyway, I can see where Craig was coming from when he said he simply approached Bond as any other character. I don’t get the sense he was studying the other Bond performances (which I can imagine a number of actors doing).
    Ludovico wrote: »
    MSL49 wrote: »
    Was Craig screentests in 2005 clearly the best to compare to the other candidates?

    Little I saw of the other auditions... yes. Boy some of them were terrible.

    Worthington’s was rough. Wasn’t hugely impressed with Cavill’s but you could tell he was adapting his performance with each take. The other ones were fine but not quite right.

    Those were just line readings though to whittle down first line candidates. They’re often varied anyway and there were probably tens of dozens of those with lesser knowns.

    Yes, Craig played the cinematic Bond. At least he knew Bond had to be a cool guy, not a John Le Carré-esque character.

    I would even say that he overplayed the panther's walk.

    I don't think Craig overplayed the walk, but I do think his physicality as Bond was very distinctive. I always think of his walk and facial expression when he throws away the key after crashing the guy's car in CR. There's a very subtle smile coming through that steely expression he tends to have as Bond, and you get that very brisk but panther-like strut. I just can't imagine any other Bond playing it quite that way, as small a thing as it is. Moore and Brosnan (probably even Connery) would have hammed up the smugness in their expressions, savouring the moment to varying degrees and probably even exaggerating the throw a bit more. Dalton may well have played it much more seriously or have even gone bigger with the smile. Lazenby... God knows what he would have done.

    I think if anything it shows how Craig approached Bond on that individual level. He kind of built up this natural physicality around how he read/viewed Bond in the script. I always think during that 2012 Olympic short with the Queen he even exaggerates that 'strut' he does when he's walking up the stairs, and purposely creates a pastiche of (or even pokes a bit of fun at) his own Bond. It's that sense that he was very in tune with how he played the character/ could adapt it to even comedy skits (quite similar to Moore incidentally, and I'd say him, Craig, Connery, Brosnan, and Dalton all had that same individualistic approach to Bond. This idea that 'action' could be called and they'd just snap into James Bond mode, whatever that was for them).

    I know during Scott Rose Marsh's supposed audition he was told to not do an impression of any individual Bond and instead do it his own way. I think that's important for this next guy. Not saying they have to reinvent the wheel, and ultimately they should have a script which understands how to write for the cinematic Bond which they can go off of, but I don't think any actor - no matter how charismatic, good looking, or talented - can get away with just doing an impression of the other actors, or indeed even that generic idea of 'James Bond'. They've got to make the role their own and prove, for better or for worse, they're the only one who could have brought this version of Bond to life.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 19,004
    Yeah I always got the impression he was taking the mick out of his own Bond walk in the Olympics skit. Feels like he’s playing with it.
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