Good actors for the Bonds of the past

I guess you could also call this missed opportunities.
e.g. Monica Bellucci starring as the Bond girl in a Bond movie of the late 1990s or early 2000s instead of in "Spectre".



I always liked the idea of Béatrice Dalle as a Bond girl for the Timothy Dalton era, after the international success of "Betty Blue".

My biggest desire was to see Catherine Zeta Jones as Vesper in Brosnan's Casino Royale in 2004. I think the chemistry between the two of them would have been electric. 



Sophia Loren perhaps would have made a good Dominetta Derval. Or Teresa Di Vincenzo (though I'm happy with Diana's rig. 

Jessica Simpson if there'd been a Bond film between 2003 and 2005.

Ornella in FYEO instead of bubble head Bibi

CJB wrote:

Jessica Simpson if there'd been a Bond film between 2003 and 2005.

Wouldn't that have been very Christmas-Jones-ish?

Salomé wrote:

CJB wrote:

Jessica Simpson if there'd been a Bond film between 2003 and 2005.

Wouldn't that have been very Christmas-Jones-ish?

*Brosnan's head emerges from between Simpson's legs*

"Well, there's no doubt about whether that's tuna or chicken."

*Arnoldian techno Bond Theme blares as 007 dives back in*

^ 

I remember reading Brosnan wanted Keira in his 5th Bond film. While I think she may have been a little young for his Bond, I do think she'd make an excellent Bond girl.

lol at CJB.

Knightley's pretty, but she has no curves.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

lol at CJB.

Knightley's pretty, but she has no curves.

Could pull a Teri Hatcher and be pregnant which would give her a healthier chest? Who are we to waste a pretty face? 




Veering away from Bond girls, perhaps a more controversial missed opportunity is Brosnan in TLD. I should say I do like Dalton in the role but the idea popped into my mind when I saw an interview with Brosnan, who said he got as far as posing for Bond publicity shots for Cubby during Remington Steele's 60 day cool off period in '86 (as we know it was the last day that Remington Steele greenlit a fifth season). They had also found his stunt double, with the team moving to Gibraltar to start shooting the PTS. They were so far advanced and Cubby offered them Brosnan for 6 episodes, they declined and wanted 22 episodes, so Cubby released Brosnan and NBC(?) ended up cancelling Remington Steele after 5 episodes. He could have done it. 

Perhaps he would have sold some of the humour that some critics and fans thought fell flat with Dalton's delivery. Perhaps it would have been better received with Brosnan in the role. The Living Daylights has everything going for it - excellent writing, a John Barry score, great performances, etc. - but Dalton as Bond was supposedly a little jarring, especially after Moore's flippant interpretation.

Solid line of thought. Brosnan would've been better suited to head the transition from a comic to a slightly-less-comic Bond. Dalton, bless him, just couldn't handle the Double-O quips. You can just tell he internally winced at saying stuff like "he got the boot." Little doubt that Brosnan would've been a greater commercial and critical success.

Dalton is most widely appreciated by those who've read the books but, as far as general audiences are concerned, it's clear that the (among forum-dwellers) oft-maligned Broz had star power and Timbo did not.

Somewhere, once, I saw a pic of Brosnan (with either Cubby or Wilson) in Gibraltar in the black commando gear from the PTS. He looked crazily young for Bond ... I'd argue that by Goldeneye, he looked the part much more.

FieldsMan wrote:

^ 

I remember reading Brosnan wanted Keira in his 5th Bond film. While I think she may have been a little young for his Bond, I do think she'd make an excellent Bond girl.

Considering she couldn't have been much more than 18 when she first came to his attention (BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM came out in late 2002-early 2003) I'd say she was extremely too young for a Bond film.

IMDB says she was born in 1985. For some reason I thought she was older, but in 2002/2003 she was borderline illegal for 007.

Knightley also went through a phase where she looked anorexic. She looks healthier now, but I've also seen a lot of other actresses who look similar to her (Daisy Ridley, Felicity Whatshername from Rogue One, Natalie Portman) and I don't think she stands out anymore.

bitchcraft wrote:

Ornella in FYEO instead of bubble head Bibi

Truly a missed opportunity. She claims she tested for Melina and turned it down and then later regretted it. If I was the casting director, I would have at least brought her back to audition for OCTOPUSSY and seen if she was interested. She would've been perfect for Melina, but couldn't pulled off OCTOPUSSY as well (after all, they were originally looking at Persis Khambatta, so all ethnicities were on the table for the role).

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

Considering she couldn't have been much more than 18 when she first came to his attention (BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM came out in late 2002-early 2003) I'd say she was extremely too young for a Bond film.

IMDB says she was born in 1985. For some reason I thought she was older, but in 2002/2003 she was borderline illegal for 007.

Knightley also went through a phase where she looked anorexic. She looks healthier now, but I've also seen a lot of other actresses who look similar to her (Daisy Ridley, Felicity Whatshername from Rogue One, Natalie Portman) and I don't think she stands out anymore.

Bond would've bought her an ice cream and licked her into shape. Would've put some meat on her bones too.

FieldsMan wrote:

My biggest desire was to see Catherine Zeta Jones as Vesper in Brosnan's Casino Royale in 2004. I think the chemistry between the two of them would have been electric. 



Sophia Loren perhaps would have made a good Dominetta Derval. Or Teresa Di Vincenzo (though I'm happy with Diana's rig. 

Raquel Welch was famously almost cast as Domino Derval, but couldn't do it because of other commitments.
I'm rather glad that it went to Claudine Auger though. One of my favorite Bond girls ever.

Claudine Auger is probably the prettiest of Bond girls but honestly, her performance doesn't quite amount to much. Wasn't Julie Christie in contention for Domino as well?

Grav wrote:

Considering she couldn't have been much more than 18 when she first came to his attention (BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM came out in late 2002-early 2003) I'd say she was extremely too young for a Bond film.

IMDB says she was born in 1985. For some reason I thought she was older, but in 2002/2003 she was borderline illegal for 007.

Knightley also went through a phase where she looked anorexic. She looks healthier now, but I've also seen a lot of other actresses who look similar to her (Daisy Ridley, Felicity Whatshername from Rogue One, Natalie Portman) and I don't think she stands out anymore.

Against Brosnan at 50, I agree, Keira would look too young, though the pairing still does make me curious. There's a maturity to Keira now, so she could still be a Bond girl in the near future. RE: the anorexia, I believe lots of photoshopping was done to sell magazines. "You provide the pictures, I'll provide the war".

In a very different type of idea, it might have been fun to see Charisma Carpenter in a Plenty O'Toole type role during the Brosnan era. The difference with Denise Richards' turn as Christmas Jones would have been that Charisma Carpenter certainly is smart enough to be in on the joke.

Charisma would have been great actually. Though I remember hearing Denise Richards saying in an interview that Christmas was the fun and light part of TWINE, so I don't think she's entirely clueless.

Among a few who I think could've done Bond like Trevor Howard, Kenneth More or even James Robertson Justice (he did his share of 'serious' roles and I usually visualised him for my wartime Bond stories), one that always comes to mind who I wished had done a Bond was the late Nigel Green.



the closest to a Bond-esque role would be his turn in The Ipcress File. Died quite young but I think he could've slotted in well to Dr No (someone on Jamaica perhaps) or even as a villain.

Nigel Green looks like he could have made a good Dent in DN. Though Anthony Dawson is one of the best things in DN, imo.

Yes, could see him as Dent. Even a small turn as Strangways. Could see him sat round the card table exchanging one-liners or as the copper who helps Bond out. My favourite in Zulu pretty much.

On the back of the bizarre story surrounding alleged friendship between Sir Roger Moore and David Bowie (which has been shot down by Moore's family as false), the fact that Bowie was considered for Zorin always makes me curious. Glad it went to Walken - he made Zorin one of the best, in my opinion.

FieldsMan wrote:

On the back of the bizarre story surrounding alleged friendship between Sir Roger Moore and David Bowie (which has been shot down by Moore's family as false), the fact that Bowie was considered for Zorin always makes me curious. Glad it went to Walken - he made Zorin one of the best, in my opinion.

I wonder if Bowie could have done the role justice? I've seen him in a few other projects and his acting was...meh. It's clear what the producers were looking for when they were considering both Bowie and Sting. I wonder why Sting said no. Could it have been coming off the disappointment of Dune?

Either way, Walken was fantastic and his team-up with Grace Jones is really the highlight of the film. Without Walken and Jones, I don't think I would like it as much.

Gravity's Silhouette wrote:

FieldsMan wrote:

On the back of the bizarre story surrounding alleged friendship between Sir Roger Moore and David Bowie (which has been shot down by Moore's family as false), the fact that Bowie was considered for Zorin always makes me curious. Glad it went to Walken - he made Zorin one of the best, in my opinion.

I wonder if Bowie could have done the role justice? I've seen him in a few other projects and his acting was...meh. It's clear what the producers were looking for when they were considering both Bowie and Sting.  I wonder why Sting said no. Could it have been coming off the disappointment of Dune?

Either way, Walken was fantastic and his team-up with Grace Jones is really the highlight of the film. Without Walken and Jones, I don't think I would like it as much.

Don't know if Bowie or Sting would have done it justice. You're absolutely right in that Walken and Jones (and Barry's score) are definitely the film's greatest strengths. I've heard Walken say he'd pick up a script and deliver lines in a manner opposite to how it was written. I'd wager this informed his performance as Zorin, which would support an argument for his final moment, laughing his way to his death.

Indeed, Zorin's exit is as memorable as his entrance for how he goes out. With respect to the late Bowie, I can't see him doing much with the role. Might've reinforced the feeling of stagnation some attach to VTAK. Though as a what if, it's interesting to consider. More-so if you threw a new Bond actor into the mix.