FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
The Bond might be broken with Daniel Craig just as he is featured in his fourth 007 movie, Spectre. Mind you, he is signed to play the martini enthusiast for one more spy mission, but nothing is forever in the franchise. Ask past secret agents Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan, who were tossed aside when the times changed. With that in mind, here are the dossiers on the front-runners poised to replace Craig. Postmedia’s Bob Thompson writes:
DAMIAN LEWIS
The world may not be ready for a ginger 007. But Lewis is. The Homeland headliner has not been secretive about his desire to give the Bond dinner jacket a whirl. And there’s no doubt a clandestine campaign (by the Bond folks?) has been testing the demographic waters to measure whether his selection would make waves among the hopelessly devoted fans accustomed to their movies shaken, not stirred, by against-type casting. Debonair factor: A work in progress Action potential: One smack above
average
Martini ready: an olive short, but a
potent mix
TOM HARDY
Can Mad Max take us into a new Bond era? Hardy thinks so, and he should not be underestimated. Since making his movie debut in Black Hawk Down, he’s gone big concept with Inception, and big comic book as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Yet he still found time to be independent-minded in a series of films, including the Cold War spy flick Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He’s one of the few who could match Craig’s intensity and fighting spirit. Debonair factor: a gritty grace
Action potential: smash-mouth
honesty
Martini ready: a frenzied fusion,
minus facade
IDRIS ELBA
His Luther detective in the British series underscores the fact that the force is with him. His London street crook in RocknRolla showed off his sardonic wit. His range in the Mandela biopic was impressive, too. And for hipster cool he’s a former club DJ. Even Craig insists Elba would be the perfect replacement. Which is easy for him to say — Craig beat out Elba for the role in 2005. Debonair factor: a smooth groove Action potential: door-ripping real Martini ready: a basic blend, with
a keen tang
MICHAEL FASSBENDER
There’s no doubt Elba would take Bond in a new direction, but so would the German-Irish actor Fassbender. He’s already proven Oscar worthiness with his slave master role in 12 Years a Slave (and likely will again for his recent Steve Jobs role). Playfulness is available to him as exemplified by his “veddy” British Archie Hicox in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. He’s also got the power, as defined by his role as the young Magneto in some of the X-Men films. Debonair factor: deep down dash Action potential: a menacing methodology
Martini ready: has been for a while, with a consummate richness
HENRY CAVILL
With Cavill’s Superman so vividly etched in movie fan minds, it is difficult to imagine James Bond Inc. would take a chance on an actor with another franchise moving forward: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens to a great deal of anticipation next year. Stranger things have happened, though. Cavill tried out his spy glibness with his Napoleon Solo performance in The Man from U. N. C. L. E. remake. The film didn’t work, but Cavill had his suave agent moments. Debonair factor: a sly touch of class
Action potential: leveraged with intent to subdue
Martini ready: on hold, but with potential to stir