Henry Cavill fan sites publish first photos of new Solo

Henry Cavill as Napoleon Solo in a photo that appeared on the HenryCavillfan.org site

The first photos of Henry Cavill as the new Napoleon Solo appeared on Sept. 19 on fan sites including HENRYCAVILL.ORG, HENRY CAVILL NEWS and the HENRY CAVILL FANPAGE on Facebook.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. movie, that began filming earlier this month, was filming in London today under the direction of Guy Ritchie. That spurred London-based Twitter uses to post updates throughout the day. Twitter user @Laneyboggs2001 was closely monitoring and re-Tweeted throughout the day.

A few examples:

Marlii ♡‏@marliimarl_
Henry now standing about 35 m away from me. Looks to be cold, he’s jumping up and down, waiting for cameras to be set.

chloe froggatt‏@ChloeFroggatt
Just walked past Guy Ritchie filming a scene at the end of my road… ✌️

Mick the Brit‏@mickthebrit
New Man from uncle film being filmed in South London at the moment.
The villain must be really scary
I wonder if Guy Ritchie is directing?

Based on the photos that came out today, this appears to the “big, ballsy” version of the spy co-created by Norman Felton and Ian Fleming.

Felton, the executive producer of the original 1964-68 television series said in a 1997 interview that he wanted more average looking leads for his new series, not “big, ballsy men.” That’s why he cast 5-foot-10 Robert Vaughn as Solo and 5-foot-8 David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin.

Then again, in the 21st century, leading men are more physically imposing than they were 50 years ago.

APRIL 2013 Wall Street Journal story: HOLLYWOOD’S NEW ARMS RACE

April 2013 HMSS Weblog post: THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.: THE LONG AND THE SHORT AND THE TALL

Happy 80th birthday, David McCallum

When you got it, you got it.

There’s a lot this blog could say about the remarkable career of David McCallum. THIS POST LAST YEAR on the eve of his 79th birthday sums it up nicely.

McCallum continues to enjoy a long run as a supporting player on NCIS and he’s still fondly remembered for playing Illya Kuryakin on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

McCallum has had his share of tragedy and triumph in real life. He continues to please audiences and is the embodiment of being a professional.

Happy 80th birthday, Mr. McCallum. Here’s one of his more obscure credits, an appearance on the Juke Box Jury game show with music by John Barry: