Following the news that current James Bond Daniel Craig may be retiring from playing the legendary character, Esquire shared a list of actors whose names have popped up regarding the position.
The English Bond: Christian Bale
Well, Welsh, but close enough. Everyone knows he can act, and everybody knows he can do action movies. But what might surprise some people, assuming they haven’t seen American Psycho, is that he’s also got a way with irony and looks damn good in sharp suits. Put all that together and you’ve got the makings of a very good Bond.
The American Bond: Jon Hamm
An American as Bond? Hear us out. The trick to playing Bond is to give the character a sense of duality — to be both charming and menacing, dangerous and dashing — and over the past few years, Hamm’s Don Draper has been all those things and more. Throw in his goofy appearances on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, and you get a sense of just how fun Hamm’s Bond could be. Plus, the man knows how to wear a tux.
The Australian Bond: Guy Pearce
Pearce would be the second Australian to play the character (after George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), and if the producers are literally looking to replace Craig, who brought gravitas and brawn to Bond but not much in the way of charm, they won’t do much better than this guy. His résumé to date looks an awful lot like Craig’s, pre-Casino Royale, and he can deliver all the requisite intensity and physicality.
The Next-Generation Bond: Sam Worthington
Sean Connery was young — thirty-two — when he first took on Bond, and it would be nice if the producers could find a younger guy who could play the character for a while to come. Problem is, younger actors these days are kind of weenies — we’re looking at you, Robert Pattinson. But Worthington might be able to pull it off. He’s got the whole swagger thing down pat, and if he could loosen up a little and have some fun with the part, there’s no telling how long he could be clocking in as 007.
The Endorsement
Much as we’d love to see Christian Bale back-flipping out of an Aston Martin and into some double-entrende’d young thing a couple summers from now, the man’s got his hands a bit tied being John Connor and Bruce Wayne. And much as we’d love to see Zoë Saldana in blue body paint again, three hours of Hollywood-upending tribal battle was plenty, thank you. Better for us all that Jake Sully hang up the loincloth and let his avatar settle down as the next reincarnation of James Bond: Sam Worthington.