Who should/could be a Bond actor?

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  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited November 16 Posts: 3,405
    It rings true, too - Dan had a reputation for being a bit surly and awkward back then. Or, at least, a bit grumpy and testy. I'd also say that his conduct at the screentest supports Craig's own statement that BB and MGW had already told him directly to his face that 'we want you to do this.' Can't prove it, so it's just MO, but I do suspect that he knew that EON were totally behind him and didn't want anyone else, so his screentest was just a formality and the job was pretty much his already.
  • Posts: 6,377
    I reckon it’s a mixture of Craig being tongue in cheek mixed with a bit of truth. I can imagine him not wanting to eat a grape was true, but I’m not sure it’s as simple as him saying ‘sod it, I’m done’ and walking off halfway through. They probably did the FRWL scene and the CR one and decided that was adequate enough (remember, he’d done Layer Cake and Tomb Raider, and I’d argue was more a safe bet than we’d imagine. So they probably had enough to go on for his Bond potential).

    But yes, I think he was the one they were out to convince at that point.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 19,610
    They keep trying to make Glen Powell happen. However, he just doesn't seem to have "it".

    Yeah, I think he’ll fare better than when they tried to make Sam Worthington happen, but it does feel a little forced doesn’t it? I think he’s likeable enough though.
  • DaltonforyouDaltonforyou The Daltonator
    edited November 16 Posts: 970
    How is Glen Powell forced, but people like Jenna Ortega, Harris Dickinson, or Elordi aren't?

    I think you guys are convinced we live in a 90's theatrical enviroment. Dwayne Johnson just had a big flop in "The Smashing Machine" it doesn't mean he's not a movie star.

    It's much easier for a big actor to just want to do streaming movies so he isn't blamed when a film doesn't do well at the box office.
  • talos7talos7 New Orleans
    Posts: 8,725
    I like Powell; he’s a throwback to a different generation of actor and I find that appealing. He’s looking to entertain, not change the world or influence hearts and minds.
  • Probably a bit old now, and I've not seen him in anything, but these recent photos make a good case for Stuart Martin, lookswise.

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  • Posts: 2,548
    They keep trying to make Glen Powell happen. However, he just doesn't seem to have "it".

    Sometimes I wonder why they don't just hire Jason Statham.

    The actor makes these numbers with B-movies!
  • Posts: 6,377
    They keep trying to make Glen Powell happen. However, he just doesn't seem to have "it".

    Sometimes I wonder why they don't just hire Jason Statham.

    The actor makes these numbers with B-movies!

    Genuinely though, I feel casting Statham as the lead in The Running Man would have been a cool throwback to Schwarzenegger in the 1987 version. I think it could have worked.

    Anyway, I’m not too keen on Glen Powell either. He’s fine and relatively likeable, and I’ve got nothing against him as an actor. But I’m not sure I’ve ever been blown away by a performance of his or his general screen presence.
  • Posts: 2,548
    007HallY wrote: »
    They keep trying to make Glen Powell happen. However, he just doesn't seem to have "it".

    Sometimes I wonder why they don't just hire Jason Statham.

    The actor makes these numbers with B-movies!

    Genuinely though, I feel casting Statham as the lead in The Running Man would have been a cool throwback to Schwarzenegger in the 1987 version. I think it could have worked.

    Anyway, I’m not too keen on Glen Powell either. He’s fine and relatively likeable, and I’ve got nothing against him as an actor. But I’m not sure I’ve ever been blown away by a performance of his or his general screen presence.

    At least it would have performed better in international markets.

    I don't hate Powell, but I think he wasn't at the right point in his career. He's not that famous.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 807
    007HallY wrote: »
    I reckon it’s a mixture of Craig being tongue in cheek mixed with a bit of truth. I can imagine him not wanting to eat a grape was true, but I’m not sure it’s as simple as him saying ‘sod it, I’m done’ and walking off halfway through. They probably did the FRWL scene and the CR one and decided that was adequate enough (remember, he’d done Layer Cake and Tomb Raider, and I’d argue was more a safe bet than we’d imagine. So they probably had enough to go on for his Bond potential).

    But yes, I think he was the one they were out to convince at that point.

    You are right he was safe bet after Layer Cake but looks was lacking.
  • MSL49MSL49 Finland
    Posts: 807
    Probably a bit old now, and I've not seen him in anything, but these recent photos make a good case for Stuart Martin, lookswise.

    2025-06-20-THE-RAKE-RIP-STUART-MARTIN21721-S.jpg

    2025-06-20-THE-RAKE-RIP-STUART-MARTIN21938-S.jpg

    2025-06-20-THE-RAKE-RIP-STUART-MARTIN22066-S.jpg

    He looks like Hugh Jackman in that last photo.
  • Posts: 6,377
    MSL49 wrote: »
    007HallY wrote: »
    I reckon it’s a mixture of Craig being tongue in cheek mixed with a bit of truth. I can imagine him not wanting to eat a grape was true, but I’m not sure it’s as simple as him saying ‘sod it, I’m done’ and walking off halfway through. They probably did the FRWL scene and the CR one and decided that was adequate enough (remember, he’d done Layer Cake and Tomb Raider, and I’d argue was more a safe bet than we’d imagine. So they probably had enough to go on for his Bond potential).

    But yes, I think he was the one they were out to convince at that point.

    You are right he was safe bet after Layer Cake but looks was lacking.

    I don't think he was quite as far from the typical Bond look as some believe. He's more in the rugged, Connery mould looks wise, and he's got the cold grey blue eyes and 'cruel' mouth Fleming's character had. Even looks a bit like Hoagey Carmichael (if that matters at all to an onscreen Bond's appearance). I think it's just the dark blonde hair and the fact that he came off the heels of Brosnan. I honestly don't think the producers were expecting the 'Craig not Bond' backlash at all.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited 5:19pm Posts: 3,405
    If the rumour's true that Barbara Broccocli wanted to cast against type and hire Sean Bean as Bond in the '90s, only to be vetoed by Cubby, that'd maybe put Craig's casting in the context of BB having long wanted to break the mould and maybe seeing Craig as a near equivalent of Bean a decade later. Just a thought.
    I 'fess it freely, though: I couldn't see Dan as Bond at all in 2005. Not any aspect of anything he'd ever done suggested Bond to me. Not Layer Cake, not Tomb Raider, not Sword of Honour, not Archangel, not The Trench, nowt. As far as I was concerned, James Bond looked like Adrian Paul - tall, dark, a swash to his buckle and classically handsome. Whereas Dan looked more like Red Grant. I knew who he was, I'd seen him in plenty of stuff on British tv, I liked him and I already thought he was a great actor...but nothing about him suggested Bond to me. I've never been more glad to be proved wrong - Craig became my favourite Bond after the first viewing of CR. He was that great. Lesson learned, there.
  • edited 5:54pm Posts: 6,377
    I suppose the way I see it is that when you look at a lot of the names who were suggested/auditioned for Bond in the past, Craig's casting isn't all that unusual. The likes of John Richardson, Antony Hamilton, Michael Billington, and of course Sean Bean I don't think are dissimilar to Craig in terms of appearance. So I think they were always open to rugged actors with lighter coloured hair (yes, even when Cubby was in charge).

    I remember reading an interview with MGW where to me it came across as if he was surprised at the backlash Craig got. Honestly, I can understand that. From their point of view they had their man. I also think it's easy to have been blind sided by fans being that energised/hateful on the internet, it only being 2005 after all!

    Anyway, I've always thought Adrian Paul looks like Bobby Cannavale, and that was never my image of Bond. It was probably more Pierce Brosnan for me. I do remember vaguely being a bit taken aback by Craig, although I was too young to have seen Layer Cake or Tomb Raider at that point, and really anything he'd done. A few people I know said he looked like Steve McQueen though and that that made sense for Bond.
  • DaltonforyouDaltonforyou The Daltonator
    Posts: 970
    I think Bond should, more often than not, have darker hair, and on rare occasions when the actor is too good to pass up you can go Blonde, but definitely not a ginger under any circumstances.
  • Posts: 6,377
    I think casting's always intuitive. More an art than a science as they say. And of course it's always a choice, not a case where you can generate the correct actor. There are requirements for Bond, but when you start rigorously going from some sort of checklist it doesn't quite work.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 14,321
    Glen Powell as Bond? No. But as Felix Leiter, sure, why not. He has a likeable screen presence, and i'm sure Felix's laid back southern charm would be easy for him.
  • DaltonforyouDaltonforyou The Daltonator
    Posts: 970
    It's not a coincidence that the first five Bonds are all classically tall, dark and handsome. Even the close calls like John Gavin, James Brolin and Henry Cavill fit that type.
  • Posts: 2,753
    I wouldn’t say that Roger Moore fit that description though - and that didn’t stop him from being such a memorable Bond.
  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 3,012
    I think Craig have always had the Bond look. The thing is, Brosnan was more smooth-looking than Craig. If Craig followed Dalton, I don't think people would have been surprised, as Dalton and Craig sort of look alike. Funnily enough, Craig looks like John Richardson who auditioned for Bond, with Lazenby. Craig also looks like Patrick McGoohan, who was also considered for Bond.

  • Posts: 6,377
    Yeah, I agree Moore doesn't really fit the others in terms of looks. Again, it's all just part of that casting process. That mixture of intuition and who's there/seen to be best.

    Anyway, if it were as simple as getting some good looking boy with black hair and who looks good in a tuxedo, we'd have many more (and I'd argue some pretty poor) James Bonds.
  • Posts: 2,548
    The problem with Craig is that he's not that handsome. Nobody would have complained if Jude Law had been chosen.
  • DaltonforyouDaltonforyou The Daltonator
    edited 6:48pm Posts: 970
    Saying Roger Moore of all people isn't tall, dark and handsome is nuts. He has brown hair. Connery has brown hair in some of his Bonds as does Brosnan.



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  • edited 6:51pm Posts: 6,377
    The problem with Craig is that he's not that handsome. Nobody would have complained if Jude Law had been chosen.

    Honestly, I think you could have said the same about Connery as Bond with his strange duck's mouth, bushy eyebrows, and lined, craggy face (for the record I think like Craig he was a good looking guy, and had that charisma/sexuality, but I can very much understand some not believing him to be good looking. Again, it's the rugged aspect to their appearances).

    I will say both Connery and Craig certainly aged better than Jude Law (not to say he's aged badly at all, but I'm not sure he quite has that same spark to him compared to when he was younger. But I think that's down to him not having Craig or Connery's charisma or screen presence).
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited 6:52pm Posts: 19,610
    Saying Roger Moore of all people isn't tall, dark and handsome is nuts. He has brown hair.

    Dark blond/light brown at most I would say.

    31b808_c43803d4d9c24bd3a6d7be801676faf2~mv2.jpg
    Here he is the day he was revealed to the public as the new Bond: jet black hair that ain't. But somehow the press didn't lose their minds over him being 'BLOND BOND' etc.
    31b808_fb0c6743e64f48acb2b89c8423e5731e~mv2_d_1417_1788_s_2.jpg
    Here's Craig the day he was announced for reference.
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    I don't give a fig what colour the guy's hair, eyes or whatever is, makes no difference to how he acts to me. Roger was brilliant, Daniel was brilliant.
  • edited 6:53pm Posts: 6,377
    You're also talking about two actors with different takes on Bond. Also there's a good chance Moore dyed his hair by his middle or later films ;) His natural colour seemed lighter.

    All these men look different, and that's fine. They also come off slightly differently onscreen.
  • DaltonforyouDaltonforyou The Daltonator
    edited 6:54pm Posts: 970
    You can't be blonde and brown haired at the same time. The only people who say Roger Moore are blonde is when they want to excuse Daniel Craig for actually being blonde. It's weird.

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  • SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷SecretAgentMan⁰⁰⁷ Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria
    Posts: 3,012
    @mtm and @007HallY are making sense as always. I couldn't agree more.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 19,610
    @mtm and @007HallY are making sense as always. I couldn't agree more.

    Thanks buddy, very kind :)
  • edited 6:57pm Posts: 2,548
    007HallY wrote: »
    Honestly, I think you could have said the same about Connery as Bond with his strange duck's mouth, bushy eyebrows, and lined, craggy face (for the record I think like Craig he was a good looking guy, and had that charisma/sexuality, but I can very much understand some not believing him to be good looking. Again, it's the rugged aspect to their appearances).

    I will say both Connery and Craig certainly aged better than Jude Law (not to say he's aged badly at all, but I'm not sure he quite has that same spark to him compared to when he was younger. But I think that's down to him not having Craig or Connery's charisma or screen presence).


    Connery was more handsome than Craig, in the vein of Clark Gable, Cary Grant, or Gary Cooper.

    I always describe Craig as a Steve McQueen's stunt double, but we don't have Steve McQueen for the close-ups.
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