About those recent Bond casting comments

Sean Connery, 31, during the filming of Dr. No

Some recent comments from Debbie McWilliams, casting director for a number of James Bond movies, centered on how younger actors aren’t up to playing James Bond.

“We did look at a lot of younger actors. and I just don’t think they had the gravitas, they didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take it on,” she told Radio Times.

But how young is too young?

Sean Connery was 31 when he was cast in late 1961 to play Bond in Dr. No. He didn’t turn 32 until August 1962 when filming was complete.

George Lazenby, Connery’s successor in the series made by Eon Productions, was even younger. He was born in 1939, almost a decade later than Eon’s first Bond actor (1930).

Henry Cavill, who turns 40 later this year, was in the conversation for 2006’s Casino Royale. But he was just in his early 20s at the time and lost out to Daniel Craig (born 1968). As things stand now, Cavill may be a longshot to be the next film Bond.

To be sure, the 1960s were a lot different than today. People were expected to grow up faster. They did so.

We will see how this plays out for Bond 26.

Eon Bond actor No. 007: Let’s get on with it, shall we?

Over the past few days, there have been events related to the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film series produced by Eon Productions.

Eon’s Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have yammered about the next casting. “For Barbara and I, it’s something we keep in mind – we want to satisfy the audiences but we need to surprise them and refresh it, so that’s the challenge,” according to an account by Radio Times.

The thing is, Broccoli and Wilson have known *for a few years now* that Daniel Craig’s time as Bond was drawing to an end.

As a result, Broccoli and Wilson have known it was time for a change. But, based on their public statements, Broccoli and Wilson have talked as if nothing will happen soon. Supposedly, Bond 26 won’t start filming for at least two years.

By comparison, Albert R. Broccoli (Wilson’s stepfather, Barbara Broccoli’s father) acted quickly when a vacancy occurred with the role of Bond. Between 1985 and 1987, Eon cast *two Bond actors* (Pierce Brosnan and then Timothy Dalton).

Wednesday, Oct. 5, is Global James Bond Day. If a new Bond actor is announced that day by Eon, it will be a very cynical announcement. It wouldn’t be a matter of Eon playing fun and games. It would be the climax of a series of lies.

We’ll see how it goes.

NTTD’s reactions from its co-stars

No Time to Die poster

h/t to MI6.HQ.COM which compiled this.

Daniel Craig’s James Bond met his end in No Time to Die. If Craig’s co-stars are to be believed, they had no idea this was happening.

Lea Seydoux, Den of Geek: “I still can’t really believe that that’s what they decided, that he’s gone…It made me sad, actually, it made me really sad…But I hope they will find a new way to—you know they will find something else.”

Naomie Harris, Radio Times: “Because there’s so much secrecy around all of the Bond movies, I thought, ‘Is this a joke? Am I being sent, like, the wrong ending, and then they’re gonna send me a new one?’. I really thought that, because I just thought… this doesn’t happen. Bond doesn’t die. It’s sacred that Bond should never die.”

A reminder: No Time to Die’s script began development in 2017. That’s when Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine met his end in a film. Earlier, Craig and Jackman had appeared together in a play in New York.

Prior to No Time to Die, Craig’s Bond had unhappy endings. At the end of SPECTRE, he finally (or so it seemed) had a happy ending with Seydoux’s Madeline Swann. Instead, No Time to Die threw that out the window.