When Sean Connery first played James Bond in 1962’s “Dr. No,” he was 32 years old. Bond was already an adult and an established spy with well-honed skills and connections within MI6. In 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” 007 actor George Lazenby was 30 years old. Roger Moore, older than Connery, was already 46 in “Live and Let Die”, while Timothy Dalton was 41 in “The Living Daylights”. Similarly, Pierce Brosnan was 42 when he debuted as Bond in “GoldenEye,” while Daniel Craig was 38 when he played a “younger” Bond in “Casino Royale.”
Lazenby and Connery are truly outliers in the Bond canon in that they were both so young when they started. As of this writing, the network has been cast to find Craig’s replacement in the next Bond reboot. Amazon has purchased the film rights to the Bond character and is preparing to make a new film as soon as time permits. Dozens of potential actors have been suggested by fans to play the next Bond, ranging from Idris Elba to Tom Holland. Elba, if cast, would be the oldest actor to debut as James Bond (at least in the Eon Pictures canon). Holland, who is currently only 29, would be the youngest.
It’s possible, however, that Bond will never again be played by someone 32 or younger. Debbie McWilliams, former casting director for the Bond films, spoke with the Radio Times about the sweetness of her job, including why finding the right Bond is such a painstaking task. She noted quite significantly that Bond will almost certainly never be played by a young actor. This is not, she pointed out, a role for a 22-year-old. The young actors lack, in his words, the “gravity” necessary to do Bond justice.
Young actors lack seriousness to play James Bond
It’s worth noting that McWilliams has been casting actors for James Bond films since 1981, when Moore was still playing the role. She, more than anyone, knows how difficult it is to find a good actor for Bond. In retrospect, some players seem obvious. Brosnan, for example, remains the perfect James Bond. (Yeah, I said it.)
In 2006, when she was looking for a replacement for Brosnan, several actors passed through the audition room before she chose Craig. McWilliams remembers seeing several actors in their 20s, but none of them were right. It seems that playing Bond just isn’t a young man’s game. It was particularly difficult to find Craig, because the vision for this new Bond was that he should be younger and more impulsive than Bonds of the past. As she said:
“When we first started, it was a slightly different feeling. […] We looked at a lot of younger actors, and I just didn’t think they had the gravitas, they didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take on this role, because it’s not just the role that they’re taking on, it’s a huge responsibility. So we kind of abandoned that idea and then went back to the drawing board and started again. »
The “mental responsibility” probably refers to the long, grueling press tours that any Bond actor must endure for each release. An actor cannot simply be suitable for the role of 007. He must also be able to withstand public scrutiny. If an actor can handle weeks of interviews, photo shoots and a lack of privacy, then he can be perfect.
