Friday, March 29, 2024

Bond actors remembered

By now everyone has heard the news — Pierce Brosnan is out and Daniel Craig will be the next James Bond.

November 2006 is the set month for the release of "Casino Royale," Craig's premiere as the secret agent.

While I was growing up, James Bond was similar to the president of the United States in that you had the same guy playing the role for a long period of time, and every so often there was a switch. The race between Bush Sr. and Clinton was the first presidential election I was really into, and the Brosnan for Craig trade is the first Bond switch to cross my radar.

Sean Connery was the first man to utter, "Bond, James Bond" on the big screen. Connery played Bond in seven movies, and obviously went on to act in numerous other successful films after his tenure as 007. For Connery, who is largely considered the best James Bond, the role was definitely a stepping stone to greater things. This would not be the case with all the actors to play Bond.

George Lazenby, who was perhaps the most forgettable Bond, never blossomed into a renowned actor. Lazenby was ironically the most qualified man to play Bond on paper. He was born in Australia and served in the Australian Army Special Forces. He also is an expert martial artist and has earned multiple black belts. His lack of success is proof the role is more about looks and not so much about actual skills.

Lazenby doesn't seem to be doing much in the way of acting these days, but maybe Connery was just too tough an act to follow. Future Bond actor Timothy Dalton was offered the role before Lazenby accepted, and he turned it down feeling he was too young and he would be imposing on Connery's legacy.

The next Bond to grace the big screen was Roger Moore. He is tied with Connery at seven for the most Bond films. Moore is still busy acting — he has two movies announced and one in production. His last role was in the largely unsuccessful "Peter Cottontail: The Movie," in which he was the voice of Irontail — not exactly the gig you'd expect to see James Bond in.

After Moore's tenure, Dalton got a chance to play Bond, and starred in "Licence to Kill" and "The Living Daylights." After turning down the role earlier, Dalton almost had to turn it down again. He was committed to the film "Brenda Starr" and had to say no. Then the Bond creators approached Sam Neill with the role, who was rejected by producer Albert Broccoli. Then another future Bond, Brosnan, was asked to play the part, but he was committed to a television show at the time.

All those rejected offers burned some time, and it turned out Dalton was done with the movie he had been previously committed to, and was able to accept the role. Dalton had the second-shortest run as Bond. He is now filming a made-for-TV movie called "Marple: The Sittaford Mystery."

After Dalton came my generation's Bond — Brosnan. He starred in "Die Another Day," "The World is Not Enough," "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "GoldenEye."

With the exception of Connery, Brosnan has proved to be the most successful actor post-Bond. He is invovled with five films in the works; two announced, with the other three in various stages. Brosnan also had major roles in "Laws of Attraction" and "After the Sunset" after he did his last Bond movie.

Brosnan's most recent release, "The Matador," has been receiving mostly positive reviews, and garnered Brosnan a Golden Globe nomination this year for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture.

Craig will have a tough act to follow, and I'm not all that optimistic about his possible success as Bond. To his credit, he does have a long acting history. Some of the more recognizable films he's appeared in include this year's Oscar-nominated "Munich," and also "The Jacket" and "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." In "Munich" Craig failed to impress me — he was the only weak point in the otherwise fantastic film.

Another bad sign for Craig as Bond is that he's a blond. It's going to be difficult to get used to a blond Bond.

Alessa Thomas is the State News film reporter. Reach her at thoma470@msu.edu.

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