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Over the last sixty years and twenty-seven movies, seven men have played British MI6 agent James Bond (David Niven is often forgotten for playing Bond in 1967's version of Casino Royale). With Daniel Craig bowing out after five outings as 007 with 2021's No Time to Die, the search begins for the next man to take his martini shaken, not stirred. Several big names lead the way from Idris Elba, the fan favorite for years now, to Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender, and Tom Hiddleston. All would be great choices to put on the black tux, but, sorry, none of them is going to be the next James Bond. Here's why:
Daniel Craig Was Not the Favorite to Play James Bond
That statement can confidently be made because the producers of the James Bond franchise have shown that they don't go for the big Hollywood name to play 007. Daniel Craig might be a major star now, thanks not just to his time playing Bond, but his roles in films like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Logan Lucky, and now, especially, Knives Out and Glass Onion. In 2006, however, when Craig was offered the part that would forever change his life, he was not a big name. That's not to say he was a nobody who was dragged out of obscurity. He wasn't a household name, and he may have been unknown to casual fans, but he'd had some success, mostly as a supporting actor. He was in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Road to Perdition, Sylvia, and Munich to name a few. Those are nothing to scoff at, but outside of the first film, which wasn't carried by him, Craig wasn't a big box office draw.
In 2005, when the search was underway to replace Pierce Brosnan, Craig wasn't even named as a possibility by most. Favorites included big names at the time like Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, Colin Farrell, Orlando Bloom, and Jude Law. Even Tom Cruise was mentioned. Craig wasn't on anyone's radar, except for the one that mattered, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli.
In 2004, Craig starred in Layer Cake, a crime film where Craig's character had a bit of the Bond feel. Watch that movie and you can see it. But it's not how he got the job. It was the 1998 film Elizabeth that made up Broccoli's mind. Broccoli said in Mark Salsbury's book, Being Bond, A Daniel Craig Retrospective:
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, he’s the guy,’ when he was in Elizabeth, walking down the corridor. I know that sounds crazy, but that was the moment I felt it in my gut. When your whole life is James Bond, some part of you is always looking for, Who could play the role? Daniel just eats up the screen. He’s a truly remarkable actor. Everything he did, he always became the character and disappeared into the role, but he also had an unbelievable amount of charisma. I always say, ‘He’s lit from within,’ because whatever scene he’s in, whether it’s on the stage or on screen, he’s completely captivating. He is a great character actor, but in the body of a movie star, and it’s a very unique thing.”
James Bond Is Best Played by a Character Actor, Not a Huge Hollywood Star
The most significant part about those comments is Broccoli's references to Craig as a character who disappeared into his role. That's exactly what the role of James Bond requires. You need someone who you look at and see as James Bond, and not as a big Hollywood star playing James Bond. The character of Bond is weakened if you look at him and think, that's Tom Cruise playing James Bond. With Daniel Craig, at least in the beginning when it mattered most, you only saw Bond.
The character of James Bond has to be bigger than the person playing him. It's the character who should be the focus of our attention, not the name in the part. It's why the best Batman portrayals were Michael Keaton and Christian Bale. They weren't Hollywood heavyweights at the time. People were outraged when Keaton, the guy from Mr. Mom, was cast as Bruce Wayne. But look how it turned out for both him and Bale. You look at them in their movies and you see Batman. You watch Ben Affleck or Robert Pattinson play Batman, and you first see the guy who's been in all of those other big movies, you see the guy from the tabloids. Ironically, Christian Bale has said the Bond role was his for the taking over Craig, but that he turned it down.
Cary Grant & Clint Eastwood Almost Became James Bond Over Sean Connery & Roger Moore
That thinking goes back to the beginning, even if by accident. Cary Grant, at the time perhaps the biggest star in the world, was offered to be the first James Bond, but he passed. Can you imagine Grant as Bond? Sure, he probably would have been great, but we would have looked at James Bond and saw Cary Grant. When you looked at Sean Connery, who was then Grant's opposite when it came to Hollywood success and name recognition, you saw James Bond. That later went for his successor, Roger Moore, as well, but did you know that Moore wasn't the first pick for producers? It was actually, again, Hollywood's biggest name at the time, Clint Eastwood. He's one of the biggest movie stars who's ever lived, but separating the man from 007 would have been impossible.
George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan, none of them were huge names when they were cast, and that's why they worked. They became chameleons in that tux. They put it on and became the character. Henry Cavill looks like Bond. He might be the perfect choice if he wasn't so famous, but with him as Bond, you first see Henry Cavill, you first see Superman. That's also why he worked so well as Superman. He wasn't a megastar when he got that gig. You saw the "S" on his chest and the red cape and you saw Superman and no one else.
The Next James Bond Won't Be the Most Famous Name
Whoever Broccoli picks to be the next James Bond, it won't set the world on fire with excitement. That'll be the point. Most likely, the new Bond will be a face we might recognize but a name many aren't familiar with. Many will complain, just as we did with Daniel Craig, but it's on the screen, where the actor becomes 007, that matters.
Someone like Richard Madden has long been considered a front-runner. Let's say he becomes James Bond. A huge part of the population will say, "Who is that? You picked that guy from Game of Thrones over Idris Elba? Are you crazy?" Or if it's another named front-runner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, many, maybe even a majority, will say, "Who is that? Is that the guy from Bullet Train? He was picked over Tom Hardy!"
And that will be exactly why someone like Madden, Taylor-Johnson, or an actor on their level should land the role. James Bond needs to be a proven character actor, one who can disappear into any role and become that person rather than the person playing him. He needs to be a face we know, but not a name we all know, so that when someone looks at them and goes, 'Who's that?", the answer is, of course, "why that's Bond, James Bond."