A Few Ideas On Who Should Be the Next 007

Written by Scotty

With so much talk about who the next James Bond should be, I figured why not give a list of actors and actresses that at least I think can pull off the role. Whenever I am posed with the question of who would you have rather seen in a role, I get chastised by my friends that could not see anyone other than the person playing the character doing it. So why not have some fun with it and let’s look at the rules that have been put in place to become the next Bond. The two rules I know the best for playing 007 are as follows, be English and not as well known in movies. I would like to squash these rules for the sake of having fun and even though today's discussion will take Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba off of my list (they would both be great), it's never a bad thing to look outside the box and at a whole different caliber of actors that could play Bond. So here is my list, in no particular order for the folks I would like to see as 007 in the future.

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Robert Downey Jr. – There I said it, Tony Stark should be the next James Bond.  Why you may ask, well, let us take a quick look. As an actor, Downey took a huge noise dive and vanished from the Hollywood scene for a few years, but came back strong in Iron Man and helped to build the Marvel Universe from the ground up.  Besides, Tony Stark is more of a James Bond character than most people would like to give him credit for. With the women, the booze and steady way of thinking when in between them both, it might just have be a match made in MI6 heaven.

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​Tim Roth – Yes, I know I already have jumped into the English realm with Roth, but he is just a phenomenal actor that has done it all.  Even though my favorite movie with him is The Legend of 1900 where he has lived his entire life on a boat, he has also done plenty of roles that require a bit of action training, his most notable one in The Incredible Hulk.  One of the things that I always love about his characters, especially the newer ones that he has played over the past five or so years, is that they are thoughtful and since the role of James Bond needs someone that is able to analyze the situations that he is in, Roth would be able to jump right in to that portion of the story.

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​Jessica Chastain – Who ever said that Bond would have to be a man going forward? Chastain is one of my favorite actresses right now and for good reasons. I have seen five movies where she is in top billing and in every one of them, I have needed to check the credits to make sure it was her. She is a great character actress and she is someone who truly loses herself in the role. This would be a huge change for the Bond franchise to make, but if you want to have someone that can embody a role, this is one of the best actresses to do it.

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​Joseph Gordon-Levitt – I know what you are saying, but have you seen this kid act?  He is wise beyond his years and would be able to bring an entire new audience to the Bond franchise. One of the things that I love about Gordon-Levitt is how versatile his skills are and one thing that Bond men are forced to do is dance, and well, I have nothing against Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies, but Gordon-Levitt could dance circles around the entire cast and not even break a sweat. He has also been in a couple action films, so he knows how to get around with little to no issue. Why not give Bond a bit of sense of humor again, that is what made it so fun to watch back in the 60’s.

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​Patrick Wilson – You know, the guy from The Conjuring.  This is more of a guilty pleasure pick for me since he has been in a couple horror movies, along with comedies. I know that the next Bond will have to be able to provide some levity and there is no one better that can put a smile on your face when needed. He has such a dead pan approach to the characters, it would be interesting to see how 007 would be able to evolve with him taking over the helm. You may scoff at this choice, but you might need to take another look at what he has left on the screen and see what he is capable of.  ​

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Milla Jovovich – If you don’t want to change up the script too much with Bond movies, why not bring in the Queen of Action movies herself, Milla Jovovich?  She has already proven that she can handle any action role that has been put in her path, along with showing emotion while doing so. One of the things that I have enjoyed about her performances is that she is never happy with her characters being one dimensional, the Resident Evil movies showcase that. Even though she is a huge horror action star, she does have the acting chops to show off Bond's inquisitive side and there would be nothing better than seeing her embrace a new franchise to take to higher heights.
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Well, there you have it, a couple more names that I would like to see named to the ever shortening Bond list. I know everyone has their different ideas about how the new 007 should be portrayed and I tried to give a couple different options with that on here as well. I have kept off a couple of names because I know that they would cause an uproar, but please feel free to let me know your thoughts and if I missed someone that you believe should take the role. I am always happy to put names up for debate, even if they are not on my list of favorite actors/actresses.

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