Favorite Bond actor

[Joel_Kirk]

Too, I believe Craig is the shortest actor to portray the character. IIRC, he's around my height: 5'-9."

5'10", according IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0185819/?mode=desktop

Close enough...

Daniel Craig wouldn't be good as Lando because that's not a part Daniel Craig would play. He usually portrays rugged characters.

Kate Winslet is so not Uhura. And, Jason Statham is soooo not Kato.

How do you know Daniel Craig wouldn't be good as Lando? Lando is an ex-con scoundrel. Are you saying Craig, an excellent actor, couldn't bring Lando to life?

Hmmm?

The fact is that Craig would be amazing in such a part. The question for me though is SHOULD Craig? Me personally, I'd rather have Billy Dee Williams play the part.

And why couldn't Statham and Winslet play those roles??? Winslet is a phenomenal actress, I'm sure she could play Uhura. Statham is a very physical actor and would pull off the physicality of Kato tremendously.

Hmmm?


It could happen...I guess.


Shaft's "blackness" in the Richard Roundtree and Sam L movies is irrelevant to the discussion. I'm talking about a NEW Shaft movie with an Asian star in the lead. Only the writers will write Shaft with an Asian actor in mind. And if we can't get a suitable Asian actor, let's get a Hispanic and we'll write Shaft as a Hispanic character.

Don't like the idea, eh?

Yeah, me neither.

Nonsense. Hugh Jackman is a tall man playing Wolverine, a short character. Diggs isn't too short. He can pull off the glasses look too.

(No one has been able to duplicate what Christopher Reeve did in a live action performance, yet).

Agreed 100%.

As a person who has interned in the film business and plans on getting into the film business...I'm going to recommend you don't get into casting. It seems like you're just casting individuals 'just for the sake of'....(lol)

In regards to Shaft: No, the 'blackness' part of it isn't irrelevant. The character in the books and the films was a statement on the black experience in America, as aforementioned. There isn't a way you make a statement on the black experience in America if you cast a non-black individual.

Shaft was a man who stood up to racist policemen, had women of all backgrounds find him sexy (e.g. there was going to be a Shaft in China but Shaft in Africa didn't do so well) and, as aforementioned, made a statement about those black individuals like Knock Parsons/Bumpy Jonas who stunt black progress.

Casting a non-black individual 'just because' isn't reason to change the character. It's like changing the gender of Honey West to a male and claiming that's being progressive...when West, one of the early female action heroes as well as an independent female, was something big in the 1950s/early 1960s since that was unheard of at the time to have a woman handle action for herself. (Or, to put out another example, it would be like Roger Moore being cast right after Richard Roundtree as Shaft. It comes off as someone trying to suppress any black statements about America)..

With that said, the Sam Jackson version of Shaft was horrible because it had no substance to it. Too, Richard Roundtree is a handsome dude....and Sam Jackson is 'cool' to a degree, but doesn't share the looks that Roundtree had in the role.

 

[EnriqueH]

As a person who has interned in the film business and plans on getting into the film business...I'm going to recommend you don't get into casting. It seems like you're just casting individuals 'just for the sake of'....(lol)

Ha, I'm not looking to be a casting director, but I'm just throwing talented names out there to show to make a point that it's not just talent, the actor should have the look and type.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a great actor, but he shouldn't play Shaft. Vin Diesel and The Rock, on the other hand, might have that charismatic toughness, though they're not black. I'm not familiar with Elba, but he seems to have that masculinity to pull off Shaft.

In regards to Shaft: No, the 'blackness' part of it isn't irrelevant. The character in the books and the films was a statement on the black experience in America, as aforementioned. There isn't a way you make a statement on the black experience in America if you cast a non-black individual.

Shaft was a man who stood up to racist policemen, had women of all backgrounds find him sexy (e.g. there was going to be a Shaft in China but Shaft in Africa didn't do so well) and, as aforementioned, made a statement about those black individuals like Knock Parsons/Bumpy Jonas who stunt black progress.

Casting a non-black individual 'just because' isn't reason to change the character. It's like changing the gender of Honey West to a male and claiming that's being progressive...when West, one of the early female action heroes as well as an independent female, was something big in the 1950s/early 1960s since that was unheard of at the time to have a woman handle action for herself. (Or, to put out another example, it would be like Roger Moore being cast right after Richard Roundtree as Shaft. It comes off as someone trying to suppress any black statements about America)..

Sure, Shaft was intrinsically black, but in Hollywood? That could easily be re-written for a Hispanic, Asian, Native-American or another minority struggling to get ahead in America, making it easier for a guy like Vin Diesel to play him.

Anyway, getting back to Bond, I think Colin Salmon "has it". He's got a Bondish quality to him. Elba? I don't think he has it. Some people here would have us believe that Bond is British and that's the only constant, but then neither Brosnan or Lazenby were British and they "had it" too. So there's an intangible, hard-to-describe quality that is intrinsic to Bond, and I don't think Elba has it.

Here...I thought some of you might be interested to see Fleming's caricature of what he imagined Bond to look like:

Kinda reminds me of Peter Cushing.

 

[Captaindemotion]

I've only seen Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 Years A Slave".

Sorry, but I think that's even worse than Elba. At least Elba is a good looking guy. (Not that Ejiofor is ugly, but I don't see Bondish good looks there.) Is there a movie of his that I can watch that makes him a good Bond candidate?

When I picture Ejiofor in my head, I just see a perpetually worried look on his face.

I think he's too small and slightly built for the role. But check him out as the operative in Serenity to see how he handles as a badass assassin.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Leonardo DiCaprio is a great actor, but he shouldn't play Shaft. Vin Diesel and The Rock, on the other hand, might have that charismatic toughness, though they're not black. I'm not familiar with Elba, but he seems to have that masculinity to pull off Shaft.

In regards to Shaft: No, the 'blackness' part of it isn't irrelevant. The character in the books and the films was a statement on the black experience in America, as aforementioned. There isn't a way you make a statement on the black experience in America if you cast a non-black individual.

Shaft was a man who stood up to racist policemen, had women of all backgrounds find him sexy (e.g. there was going to be a Shaft in China but Shaft in Africa didn't do so well) and, as aforementioned, made a statement about those black individuals like Knock Parsons/Bumpy Jonas who stunt black progress.

Casting a non-black individual 'just because' isn't reason to change the character. It's like changing the gender of Honey West to a male and claiming that's being progressive...when West, one of the early female action heroes as well as an independent female, was something big in the 1950s/early 1960s since that was unheard of at the time to have a woman handle action for herself. (Or, to put out another example, it would be like Roger Moore being cast right after Richard Roundtree as Shaft. It comes off as someone trying to suppress any black statements about America)..

Sure, Shaft was intrinsically black, but in Hollywood? That could easily be re-written for a Hispanic, Asian, Native-American or another minority struggling to get ahead in America, making it easier for a guy like Vin Diesel to play him.

Anyway, getting back to Bond, I think Colin Salmon "has it". He's got a Bondish quality to him. Elba? I don't think he has it. Some people here would have us believe that Bond is British and that's the only constant, but then neither Brosnan or Lazenby were British and they "had it" too. So there's an intangible, hard-to-describe quality that is intrinsic to Bond, and I don't think Elba has it.

Here...I thought some of you might be interested to see Fleming's caricature of what he imagined Bond to look like:

Kinda reminds me of Peter Cushing.

A younger Peter Cushing, yes. However, Fleming did base Bond on an individual named Hoagy Carmiichael.

In regards to Shaft: Yeah, if Hollywood was really desperate they could change the character around for a non-white/non-black individual.

However, I do have to something on Vin Diesel and The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson): They are both 'half-black.' For awhile, Johnson's name was thrown around for the role of Green Lantern/John Stewart, a black superhero. And, he - Dwayne Johnson - portrayed the black GI Joe, Roadblock, in the second live action film. Also, Dwayne Johnson is the son of a black wrestler Rocky Johnson, which I believe, inspired the moniker, 'The Rock.'

 

[Starkers]

Elba's older than Craig - he won't be the next Bond.

Do you mean that Elba would be older than Craig was when he got the job? Daniel Craig is 46, Elba is 42. What this does mean is, assuming Spectre is DC's last film, that the earliest an Elba Bond film would come out is likely to be 2017 meaning Elba would be 45/46 by the time he played Bond for the first time. Now to be fair Elba is probably aging better than Daniel Craig, so there's no reason he couldn't be Bond into his fifties I guess, but I'd imagine they would be more likely to go for a candidate in his late 30s/early 40s.

Of course if Daniel Craig does 5 Bonds this means elba would likely be 50 before he got to do his first film. That's definitely not likely.

A younger Peter Cushing, yes. However, Fleming did base Bond on an individual named Hoagy Carmiichael.

Of course in Casino Royale Bond reflects that people say he looks like Carmichael, but he doesn't see it himself

Also didn't Fleming want David Niven to be Bond?

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I thought he wanted Cary Grant?

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Also didn't Fleming want David Niven to be Bond?

Yep.

^ I thought he wanted Cary Grant?

Not Fleming, but the original Bond producer Harry Saltzman.

Patrick McGoohan was another considered for the initial Bond film as well.

 

[EnriqueH]

I've only seen Chiwetel Ejiofor in "12 Years A Slave".

Sorry, but I think that's even worse than Elba. At least Elba is a good looking guy. (Not that Ejiofor is ugly, but I don't see Bondish good looks there.) Is there a movie of his that I can watch that makes him a good Bond candidate?

When I picture Ejiofor in my head, I just see a perpetually worried look on his face.

I think he's too small and slightly built for the role. But check him out as the operative in Serenity to see how he handles as a badass assassin.

Yes! I think I remember that. It has been several years since I've seen Firefly and Serenity. Yeah, I remember he was kinda of a creep.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a great actor, but he shouldn't play Shaft. Vin Diesel and The Rock, on the other hand, might have that charismatic toughness, though they're not black. I'm not familiar with Elba, but he seems to have that masculinity to pull off Shaft.

In regards to Shaft: No, the 'blackness' part of it isn't irrelevant. The character in the books and the films was a statement on the black experience in America, as aforementioned. There isn't a way you make a statement on the black experience in America if you cast a non-black individual.

Shaft was a man who stood up to racist policemen, had women of all backgrounds find him sexy (e.g. there was going to be a Shaft in China but Shaft in Africa didn't do so well) and, as aforementioned, made a statement about those black individuals like Knock Parsons/Bumpy Jonas who stunt black progress.

Casting a non-black individual 'just because' isn't reason to change the character. It's like changing the gender of Honey West to a male and claiming that's being progressive...when West, one of the early female action heroes as well as an independent female, was something big in the 1950s/early 1960s since that was unheard of at the time to have a woman handle action for herself. (Or, to put out another example, it would be like Roger Moore being cast right after Richard Roundtree as Shaft. It comes off as someone trying to suppress any black statements about America)..

Sure, Shaft was intrinsically black, but in Hollywood? That could easily be re-written for a Hispanic, Asian, Native-American or another minority struggling to get ahead in America, making it easier for a guy like Vin Diesel to play him.

Anyway, getting back to Bond, I think Colin Salmon "has it". He's got a Bondish quality to him. Elba? I don't think he has it. Some people here would have us believe that Bond is British and that's the only constant, but then neither Brosnan or Lazenby were British and they "had it" too. So there's an intangible, hard-to-describe quality that is intrinsic to Bond, and I don't think Elba has it.

Here...I thought some of you might be interested to see Fleming's caricature of what he imagined Bond to look like:

Kinda reminds me of Peter Cushing.

A younger Peter Cushing, yes. However, Fleming did base Bond on an individual named Hoagy Carmiichael.

In regards to Shaft: Yeah, if Hollywood was really desperate they could change the character around for a non-white/non-black individual.

However, I do have to something on Vin Diesel and The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson): They are both 'half-black.' For awhile, Johnson's name was thrown around for the role of Green Lantern/John Stewart, a black superhero. And, he - Dwayne Johnson - portrayed the black GI Joe, Roadblock, in the second live action film. Also, Dwayne Johnson is the son of a black wrestler Rocky Johnson, which I believe, inspired the moniker, 'The Rock.'

Also didn't Fleming want David Niven to be Bond?

Yep.

^ I thought he wanted Cary Grant?

Not Fleming, but the original Bond producer Harry Saltzman.

Patrick McGoohan was another considered for the initial Bond film as well.

Diesel and Rock could pass for Latinos too though, right? (I can remember people wondering if Vin Diesel was half-Puerto Rican or something right after the Fast & Furious 1 movie came out. As I recall, he was being rather mysterious about his background when he first became famous.) Anyway, I think you get my point.

As for Bond...

It has been some years since I've read some of the many books on the Bond film franchise's formative years, but I also believe Roger Moore may have been in contention early. But don't quote me on that.

I remember reading Cary Grant was also a name thrown around, but I believe if he had done it, it would've been a 1-picture deal or something like that. He could've been a decent Bond. Aside from the elegance and worldliness, he did a great job in a serious role in Notorious. But I think most of us are inclined to think he would've been more "Roger Moore" than "Sean Connery" in the role.

I know that Timothy Dalton was definitely considered to replace Sean Connery when Connery left the series, but Dalton declined thinking he was too young and did not want to follow Connery.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I know they say that about Dalton declining OHMSS on the DVD of Living Daylights. But I'm convinced it's just spin by Eon to make up for the fact that Dalton was a very public second choice at the time, after Remington Steele nixed Brosnan's casting.

Moore was also in contention at the time of Dr No, that's correct but I imagine most British actors were considered also.

 

[Starkers]

I've recently ready one of Roger Moore's book of anecdotes, he amusingly notes that before Connery scored Dr No the producers of The Saint had tried to get him to be Simon Templar!

I'm never sure where the truth lies re Dalton, in the end I'm just glad he got to be Bond at all.

I have a hard time imagining Archibald Leach as 007 Niven doesn't really fit the mold either, although given Niven was an honest to God commando during WW2 you could argue his CV was better than anyone elses!

I think Fleming also championed Christopher Lee.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^Lee was his cousin.

 

[EnriqueH]

I loved Christopher Lee as Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun. Too bad it wasn't a better movie.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

Diesel and Rock could pass for Latinos too though, right? (I can remember people wondering if Vin Diesel was half-Puerto Rican or something right after the Fast & Furious 1 movie came out. As I recall, he was being rather mysterious about his background when he first became famous.) Anyway, I think you get my point.

Well, Latinos can be black, Asian(e.g. Filipinos), white, mixed...so I'm sure they would be able to portray that ethnicity. The Rock has always looked, well, 'Blasian' - half-Asian/half-black - to me (since he is). And, Diesel has always looked half-Italian/half-black to me. However, the point of acting is to immerse oneself into the role...so I wouldn't put it past them to play such in a future role.

Yaphet Kotto - Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big from Live and Let Die - portrayed a half-Italian/half-black character in the American tv series "Homicide: Life on the Street."

 

[Captaindemotion]

Vin's short film as a director, Multi Facial, played on his multi-ethnicity and then-undefined (to the rest of us anyway) racial origins.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

I remember reading they were considering adopting Property Of A Lady as the third Dalton film (The original story inspired Octopussy). Not really a Bondish title, that.

 

[Skellington]

Brosnan. Suave but ruthless.

 

[EnriqueH]

Diesel and Rock could pass for Latinos too though, right? (I can remember people wondering if Vin Diesel was half-Puerto Rican or something right after the Fast & Furious 1 movie came out. As I recall, he was being rather mysterious about his background when he first became famous.) Anyway, I think you get my point.

Well, Latinos can be black, Asian(e.g. Filipinos), white, mixed...so I'm sure they would be able to portray that ethnicity. The Rock has always looked, well, 'Blasian' - half-Asian/half-black - to me (since he is). And, Diesel has always looked half-Italian/half-black to me. However, the point of acting is to immerse oneself into the role...so I wouldn't put it past them to play such in a future role.

Yaphet Kotto - Dr. Kananga/Mr. Big from Live and Let Die - portrayed a half-Italian/half-black character in the American tv series "Homicide: Life on the Street."

Latinos can definitely be black.

On TV and in movies, they would have you believe Cubans are all a sort of tan color, but the reality is that there are white, black, and Asian Cubans.

 

[JediKnightButler]

I grew up during the Moore movies, so he's the one who's stuck with me the most ("The Spy Who Loved Me" is one of my favorite Bond movies) but I confess that I haven't really watched the Connery ones (or the Lazenby one). For some reason, I kind of liked Dalton. Brosnan was decent but I've only seen 2 of his. As of Skyfall, Craig is starting to grow on me but I initially wasn't that enthusiastic about him.

 

[EnriqueH]

I love Roger Moore.

I always talk about Connery (and now Craig) being so great, but man, I have to say that I really, really enjoy Moore in the role.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Limbaugh agrees: #Elbanotbond.

Nothing like being on the same side of an argument as Rush.