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Column: Six options for who should play the next James Bond

 
Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond is rumored to end after Nov. 6’s Spectre.
Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond is rumored to end after Nov. 6’s Spectre.
Published Sept. 22, 2015

Confession: I like summer at the movies better.

The fall rush for awards season pleasers that Steve Persall lays out in this year's Fall Movie Preview often just feels ho-hum after a summer full of box office smashing superheroes. (I may or may not have seen Avengers: Age of Ultron three times in the theater. Don't judge) While the summer is all about razzle dazzle on a big screen scale, I'd rather watch heftier fall releases on DVD at home, where one can more easily contemplate and debate them.

But if there's something we can all agree to watch, contemplate and debate any season, it's Bond. James Bond.

He's a man of all movie seasons, blending action with the right amount of smarts. Embodying Agent 007 is a never-ending source of contention — I've swooned over Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, but Sean Connery trumps all — but the debate is renewed as rumor has it Craig's run may end after Nov. 6's Spectre.

Who could be the next James Bond? Debate will rage long after filmmakers decide. People said Craig was too short and "thuggish," and creator Ian Fleming himself worried before Dr. No that Connery wasn't suave enough. The box office laughed heartily.

So with contention in mind, I present a handful of actors I wouldn't mind seeing as 007.

IDRIS ELBA

Associated Press

Associated Press

Author Anthony Horowitz, who Sept. 8 released new Bond novel Trigger Mortis, recently made headlines for saying the Luther actor is "a bit too 'street' for Bond." No offense (but lots of shade) to Horowitz, but I refer him to the aforementioned criticisms of Craig and Connery while I drool over suave red carpet photos of Elba.

TOM HARDY

Associated Press

Associated Press

Hardy is riding high after summer blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road, but he's blowing off the red dust and polishing up a bit to play a dual role in next month's Legend, proving that, like Bond, he's a man of all movie seasons. He recently told Britain's Sky News he'd consider Bond, so I'll consider him, too.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER

Fox Searchlight

Fox Searchlight

Speaking of considering it, Fassbender's X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn and co-star Lucas Till floated him as a Bond option back in 2011. I'm as enthusiastic about Fassbender as Bond as they were — he's got the reserve, the charm and his voice alone can make ladies swoon.

RICHARD ARMITAGE

Associated Press

Associated Press

I've been on Armitage's bandwagon since the 2004 BBC miniseries North and South, in which he embodied brusque brooder. Add his more recent turns as secret agents in Captain America, BBC's MI-5 and Epix's upcoming Berlin Station, not to mention Thorin in the Hobbit franchise, and I'm sure you'll be willing to jump onboard, too.

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DOMINIC COOPER

Getty Images

Getty Images

You probably know him as Howard Stark in the Marvel universe, but Cooper also devilishly played the titular role in last year's BBC miniseries Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond. Would the universe implode if the same person played both character and creator?

SOMEONE OLDER

Getty Images

Getty Images

During a recent chat, my sister suggested Ian McKellen, 76, or Liam Neeson, 63, should play an older but still-kicking-butt Bond. I poo-poohed the notion, but the more I thought about it, the more I was intrigued. If Bond was 30-something in Fleming's 1950s novels, he'd be at least 90 by now. McKellen recently played a 90-something Sherlock Holmes; how fascinating would Bond be at 90? Maybe we can even talk Connery, 85, out of retirement.