4. Michael Fassbender
One of my favourite actors at the moment, and someone who could more than adequately fill Bond’s beautiful crafted Oxfords. A versatile actor whose popularity in Hollywood is continuously on the up. Incredibly likeable on and off screen, Fassbender would again allow Bond to evolve somewhat, but as with Hiddleston could be seen as an attempt to bring out more of Bond’s charm and cheekiness. That said, Fassbender has shown on numerous occasions that he’s perfectly able to play the ruthless operator, and could prove to be a textbook combination of the two. 2017 will no doubt be another busy year for Fassbender, and it might be that his time is occupied with another franchise altogether, with the next Alien picture due out that year (please, Lord, let it be better than Prometheus).
5. Emily Blunt
“Woah, Gareth, what’s this curve ball you’re throwing at us?” I hear you cry. That’s right readers, like James Bond with an emotionally traumatised woman I’m unafraid to go there. But on a serious note, as I said earlier on, Bond is an entirely fictional character so why couldn’t a female actor play the British secret agent? And if the franchise’s producers were prepared to piss of thousands of bigoted men, I can think of no one more suitable than Emily Blunt for the role. In terms of ticking boxes against Bond’s character traits, I’m not sure there’s one that she misses (apart from all the sex with various heroines throughout Bond’s adventures – though, I don’t know Emily well enough to comment). She was excellent in both Edge of Tomorrow and Sicario, and has thus well proven her capability with a weapon, while her natural charm and sense of humour would fit perfectly with our traditional notion of Bond. I suspect, though, that if some morons are already whinging about the prospect of Idris Elba playing our tuxedoed super-spy, then this may be a step too far. A real shame as she’s an exceptional actor, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the franchise heads this way in the future.
6. Tom Hardy
I’ve wrestled with this one, a lot. I’ve got a huge amount of time for Tom Hardy, and his acting capabilities are up there with some of the best (certainly matching other names on this list). There’s just something that, for me, doesn’t quite pair him with the role of Bond. Perhaps
because the Bond that would suit him would be the Bond of 2006’s Casino Royale. He would have to be a regression of Daniel Craig’s raw new 00-agent. I’d love to see it happen and the prospect of Tom Hardy stamping his huge mark on a new iteration of Bond would no doubt be exciting. But it would lack something that Bond has always had a modicum of; refinement. Hardy is at his best when portraying the opposite (think Lawless), and though Inception saw him don a posh accent, I couldn’t help but sense that it felt all wrong. That doesn’t mean to say we won’t see Hardy in a Bond film, but for me he would make a far better villain than he would a “hero”.
So that’s 6 incredible actors that could be the next James Bond 007. All of these actors could bring something different to the role and whilst some may be purely theoretical public opinion most certainly agrees on the front runners. Let us know your thoughts on our top 6 and post anyone you think we’ve missed in the comments!
Gareth Jenkins