Rogue Casting: Who Should Play James Bond?

The name’s Bond. James Bond. But who will be the next actor to take on the name? For the past 54 years, six actors have held the mantle in a franchise that has distinguished itself with enormous box office success. As Daniel Craig has officially walked away from the role following Spectre, the upcoming 26th movie in the Bond franchise yet again needs a new leading man. Rogues Portal has opinions on who it should be. Some of these casting suggesting might be more likely than others, some of them will sound strange or even outlandish to a purist at first, but read on and you’ll find they’re all our vision for an ideal 007.

Tom Hiddleston

Written by Adrian Hodgkiss

Current odds-on favourite for the new James Bond is Mr. Tom Hiddleston. While he may not seem like an exciting choice to many, for me he represents an opportunity to change direction and in many ways return to a smoother and more suave Bond. We’ve now had four movies lead by Daniel Craig. His portrayal has been imposing and physical and has had it’s highs and lows. If I imagine Daniel Craig as a blunt instrument, then Tom Hiddleston by contrast would be more like a fencing foil or rapier. Perhaps a more agile and diverse performer will bring a little more sophistication and elegance.

If I draw up a list of what I want from James Bond, I think Tom Hiddleston ticks all of my own personal boxes. He is a very talented, classically trained actor. He is reasonably well known, but not so well known that his presence would take you out of the movie (imagine The Rock were James Bond and you’ll understand what I mean by that). He looks great in a tuxedo and should the occasion dictate, he’s a damn fine dancer! He can do action and has martial arts training from his experience in the Marvel movies. Recent performances such as the BBC drama The Night Manager also evidence his potential for playing the lead in a tense thriller. For too long now he has played second fiddle. It’s a little known fact that Tom originally auditioned for the part of Thor before being cast as Loki. He even put on thirty pounds of muscle in the process. It’s time to finally give Hiddleston a starring role to make Bond his own. #HiddlestonForBond

Idris Elba

Written by Insha Fitzpatrick

There’s a lot of amazing James Bond hopefuls that could take over the role of this character. From the first time I heard that Idris Elba expressed interest, it made my heart flutter. Not because he’d be the first POC to take over the role, but because he’s just so fucking cool. I’d like to make the case of Idris Elba playing James Bond because I think he’d be a great fit among some other reasons. His acting in both The Wire and Luther really cements me thinking that he’d be a great fit, especially his role in Luther. If you’ve never seen Luther, it’s a BBC show that has Idris Elba playing a no nonsense DCI named John Luther. He goes through a ton of stuff on the show, but it’s honestly one of the best things Elba has ever acted in. Within The Wire (HBO), Idris plays Stringer Bell, a second hand to a drug kingpin and it brings out that businessman side to Elba. So not only can he get the job done, but he can also fuck people up if necessary from the example of both of these shows.

Idris Elba carries a presence to him never before seen. He’s quite a force on any screen, if you need more examples, Beasts of No Nation (Netflix), Pacific Rim (2013) and RocknRolla (2008) are just some where his presence… is a present. If Idris was to play Bond, I’d love to see his era be met with Luther. Elba’s Bond in my eyes would be suave and sophisticated, but tough and has a bit of roughness to him. The roughness is the most critical part. I’d hope that his era wouldn’t just be about “getting a girl” at every single turn WHILE fighting the bad guys, but instead, to get shit done and to do whatever necessary and finally have a life of his own. I know James Bond doesn’t work this way, but it’s always nice to dream a little dream. It’d be great to see such a strong and iconic actor be given a chance to play such an iconic man. #ElbaForBond

Gillian Anderson

Written by Billy Seguire

The internet has had some amazing ideas before. Not all of them come to fruition, of course, but the current push to get X-Files alumn Gillian Anderson considered for the role of Bond is certainly one of the more unique options out there. We already know she has the capability to act in roles that require action, intense drama, and a penchant for emotionless cunning. I think she’d excel at the international intrigue James Bond requires and take the franchise in a bold new direction. At 47, she’s only two years older than Roger Moore when he first took on the role. More than that, Anderson has unapologetically shown the capability to grow more fierce and ruthless with age.

One of the biggest arguments against this choice that I’ve heard is that with a female Bond, you couldn’t have a Bond girl. I am, admittedly, not expert in this matter. Yet as multiple queer women have said since, there most definitely can still be a Bond girl. I’d even advocate to keep the womanizing, flippant treatment of sexual partners as objects as a part of Bond’s character during Anderson’s tenure. And men of course, because the bisexual Bond we never actually got during Craig’s tenure is still sorely disappointing. A purist’s depiction in all but gender, this era would have a Bond that’s confident, serious, and seductive. I’d even demand at least one scene of Anderson swaggering into a party in full tuxedo sipping a martini. It’ll be a move that has the audience both shaken and stirred. #AndersonForBond

Michael Fassbender

Written by Michael Walls-Kelly

Michael Fassbender is a name that’s been thrown around the last couple of years as a replacement Bond. It definitely makes sense. He’s one of the best working actors, killing it in movies ranging from the X-Men franchise to 12 Years a Slave. He’s shown how he can play action (300, Haywire), over-the-top Britishness (Inglourious Basterds) and he has that intense, bordering on creepy edge that most good Bonds have (Shame). That’s what I look for in my Bond, an edginess. Connery basically defined it in his interpretation, giving the character a hardcore coldness. This trait showed up in most of the other Bonds and reached its peak with Daniel Craig basically playing M’s Oddjob.

The only thing really working against him as a selection is that I doubt he actually wants it. He’s already been part of a large, money-making franchise and could be attached to another if the upcoming Assassin’s Creed takes off. Fassbender seems more passionate for smaller and more interesting films than Bond movies are generally allowed to be, and at this point in his career he has the clout to be selective. Will he be the next Bond? I doubt it. Would he make an amazing James Bond? Absolutely. #FassbenderForBond

Matthew Lewis

Written by Billy Seguire

If Harry Potter was the boy who lived, Neville Longbottom was the boy who grew up hot. The fact that I opened my paragraph on that note is exactly why Bond would be a perfect fit for the 26 year old hunk from Leeds. Coming out of a franchise is tough, and while getting in bed with another so soon may not be the route that Lewis wants to go down, there’s no doubt that playing James Bond would help him shed his schoolboy image and be seen in Hollywood as a man who’s fully grown up and capable of acting like a man.

What I feel like Lewis would bring to Bond is a sense of humanity to the role. Daniel Craig’s Bond has been emotionally cold, physical before mental, and one of the biggest criticisms of the character has been Bond’s treatment of other people throughout his tenure. Lewis’ charm and trustworthy good nature both on and off screen has the possibility of actually turning Bond into a decent human being. This of course requires sensitive writing as well as acting, which is why I’d like him to be paired with a female writer who can approach the nuances of the character with a little more grace. Throw out the womanizing and misogyny. Give me a Bond who can be cool and suave while also being there for his co-workers and treating them with respect. Crack a joke or two and… um… Yeah, you know, if you want to take your shirt off again that’d be cool too. #LewisForBond

Emila Clarke

Written by David Hildebrand

For the most part, I like characters staying at their source.  I’m not always up for seeing a change just for the sake of change. With that being said, I do have moments that I’m thinking “The hell with the norm, let’s throw a wrench into the monkey and see what happens!”  My choice for the next 007 is one of those moments.  Bond has been a male since the start, actors come and go but it is always a male.  I would be interested in seeing a female take over the role as 007, but there has to be certain criteria met for me to be satisfied with it.  First, keep the number 007, but not the name.  I don’t want a “Jane Bond”.  I think that comes across as corny and predictable.  Next, she has to have a darker persona, you have to be frightened of her, but still let her personality shine. However, you can’t have her be the smooth talking spy, sleeping around with a leading man in every movie. The slut jokes would be flying around the internet as soon as the second instalment was announced.  It would be a stigma that wouldn’t be escapable.

With that being said, my choice for the next 007 would be Emila Clarke.  She received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.  And despite the material that she had to work with in Terminator: Genisys, there were moments that she shined through as a genuine bad ass. The lady can act! And more importantly, she looks comfortable holding a gun! I feel with the right script and more importantly, the right director that she just might be able to pull off being Ms. License to Kill. She also announced a couple of days ago that she would like to play the role of Bond, touché is what I thought as I saw the headline on the net, knowing that I was going to write about her as my choice as well. I have no doubt that the next Bond will still be a male, but I would like to see a brave director step outside of the box and give a woman a shot at being everyone’s favourite spy. #ClarkeForBond

Dev Patel

Written by Michael Walls-Kelly

I’d like to talk up Dev Patel. Patel is only 26 and much more accustomed to awkward, nerdy roles than the carefree cool associated with Bond, but he’s a great enough actor that I think he could pull it off. Slumdog Millionaire proved that he can lead a movie and be incredibly compelling while he’s doing it. He barely appeared in season 3 of The Newsroom, but when his character went on the run from the FBI it made me want a spinoff series entirely made up of Patel breaking cell phones and hopping borders.

When it comes to James Bond casting I’m open to everything. My only caveat is that they have to at least pretend to be from the UK. Barring that though, bring it on. Patel would be perfect if they were looking for a more diverse Bond. He’s hella British and a great actor, so it would be hard to argue that it’s be tokenism. We’ve suave Bond, athletic Bond, older Bond and brutish Bond. Now give me a Patel Bond. #PatelForBond

Patrick Stewart

Written by Nicole Bresner

I cannot express my giddiness at the fact that I finally have a soapbox to go on about something I’ve said for years. There is a drum roll playing in my head…aaaaaaand… Patrick Stewart should be cast as James Bond. It’s almost a fact. He’s much older than when I first spawned the idea, but I stand by it wholeheartedly. If modern day Moneypenny can reject James’s advances (albeit coyly) rather than fawn all over him, and M can be a woman, then James Bond can certainly be a gentleman of maturity.

While Stewart (age 75), and Sir Patrick Stewart to us, may not fit the standard action-star-male-lead-model, his distinguished good looks embrace his age, and his suave yet intense acting presence would elevate the Bond franchise to a whole new level. While Daniel Craig’s Bond undoubtedly upped the badass quotient of the Bond films, Stewart would capture the finely nuanced inner workings of the character in a manner that only he can. He is one of those actors that doesn’t have to act cool. He just is. He doesn’t have to fight to be kickass. He just is. I want to see him in a tux. I want to see him seduce beautiful women. I want to see him deftly talk his way out of a predicament in his dreamy British-speak that is, in my humble opinion, the sexiest of the Bond accents. Maybe he’d do some push-ups!

Lastly, as much as I’ve mentioned his age, Stewart is a pretty fit guy. I seem to recall a tweet of him a couple years ago doing a one-armed push-up… So let’s not rule out watching him have a good fight scene. And loving it. Just sayin. #StewartForBond

Grover

Written by Amelia Wellman

Grover. That’s right. From Sesame Street. Why wouldn’t you want him to be Bond? He’s almost as arrogant as the Bonds we’ve come to know, describing himself as a ‘cute, furry little monster’. He’s even as antagonizing to his foes as Bond is. See any of his bits involving the bald man. Actually, The Bald Man would even make a bitchin’ villain now that I’ve said it out loud. Would Grover’s overly safe lifestyle of always wearing a helmet and checking both ways before crossing a street deter the Bondian action and adventure? Hell no! Grover already comes with an ace in the hole: superpowers. Our furry blue friend could bust up bad guys like no Bond before using a little of his Super Grover mystique.

I think the best thing to come with a 007 Grover is we get all the Bond sass without any of the Bond misogyny. Grover wouldn’t treat his Bond girls like dirt, and not just because he doesn’t have genitals. He might be a monster, but he’s a gentleman above all else. And, honestly, I’ve always gotten the sense that Bond wants to help people, but he’s terrible at it. Doesn’t that describe Grover to a tee? #GroverForBond

The Day of 007: James Bond Returns

Written by Billy Seguire

Fine. Don’t want a new Bond at all? That’s fine. Change is hard, and some of you are still reeling from the fact that Daniel Craig was made a blonde. Some of you are still reeling that Connery left. This pitch is definitely beyond the realm of possibility, but I still want to mention my long-held dream for a multi-Bond team up straight out of the playbook of Doctor Who. For years, fans have theorized that 007 is just a title. Let’s make it canon. Bring back Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, and Brosnan as the stars of the picture, with Connery saved for a cameo at the end and Craig involved as much as we can drag him in kicking and screaming to make the set complete.

My ideal version of this is a redemption story for Lazenby, the Bond that only got one outing. Everyone would be dismissing him the whole time, making derisive jokes about his tenure, and let him step up and actually show us why his version of the character was valid after all. With Craig out of commission, the previous Bonds would have to come together and solve the crisis with each of their unique set of skills. Highlight the strengths of each era without being able to poke fun at the franchise and generally just have fun with it. Give Connery a Tom-Baker-As-The-Curator moment and make the cinema go really crazy. End it with Craig looking deadpan into to the camera. “This never happened to the other guys”. #MakeBondGreatAgain