Would It Be Better to Cast an Unknown for the Next James Bond?

Perhaps it would be better to start over with James Bond by taking on a relatively unknown actor to play the role? It’s easy to imagine how many people might be shocked enough to stand there with mouths agape at the audacity of such a thought, but it’s kind of amusing as well. But without being vindictive or even contrary, there is a good reason why it might help to pursue such an idea. There’s been a general outpouring of opinion over who should take on the mantle of James Bond next, as some believe a woman should take the role or a person of color, or that the part should go to someone that looks a little closer to what a classic Bond would look like. There have been plenty of stars that have been looked at as great replacements for the current star, Daniel Craig. It’s even been stated that James Bond is a codename, and not a real person, which would open up the position in a big way if this happened to be true. But there is one idea that hasn’t been floated nearly as much as the others. 

What if an unknown actor takes on the part of James Bond? This individual would need to be a moderately experienced actor since lightning would have to strike within a bottle and be caught before this would be thought possible in a way that would work. James Bond isn’t a throwaway role after all, and it’s fair to say that fans would become enraged if one of their favorite characters of all time was given over to someone that was just coming into the scene and was liable to butcher one of the best roles that any actor could hope for in the course of their career. But there’s still a reason why it would be kind of fun to see this happen, and it has a lot to do with the fact that using a relative unknown, but the skilled, actor would bring to light a new perspective and a possible renewal of why people love Bond movies. 

One says whatever they want about the Bonds that have come and gone since at one time, and even now to a certain degree, George Lazenby endured heavy criticism for his role. Sean Connery did as well, as did the other men that took on the role of Bond. The point is that Bond isn’t a character that’s so universally loved that he’s going to be spoken of with praise in every instance. But bringing in someone that isn’t as well known and inspiring them to become the best character they could be might backfire or it might create one of the best versions of James Bond ever, especially if the actor in question does manage to capture the essence of Bond and turn it into something traditional but new enough that people could relate to the character but also see them as a familiar character that has changed just enough to conform to the times. That’s the hope at least, but it’s fair to say that no one can predict whether this would happen, or if it would be a bust. 

The biggest hurdle to using an unknown for any role is the fact that they aren’t guaranteed to attract a crowd, even if it appears that they might fit the mold and could be excellent in the desired role. There have been occasions when an unknown has stepped into a role and been able to knock it out of the park, but quite often, big names like Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, and many others have been noted either because of the role of James Bond or because they were famous before taking on the role of Bond. But the point is that while an unknown can become a star thanks to one role, there’s nothing to say that it will happen as people tend to want to know who they’re looking at and why they should care. Bringing an unknown into the role of James Bond would be a great idea in some respects, but in others, it might be something that many fans would look at as a horrible move.  One big upside is that it could easily breathe a bit of new life into the James Bond movies and send it off on a course that no one sees coming since for the last few movies it feels as though there were so many common threads that there was little to no real movement for the character when it came to the plot and the character arcs. Taking Bond off in a different direction would be nice to see, especially if the next movie paid homage to everything that’s come along so far. Hell, even admitting that the name of James Bond is a codename might work.