Richard Kiel Approves Of Daniel Craig Era

bondaholic007

-> Read here at Channel 4 News

Channel 4 News wrote:

One of the best-loved James Bond villains has given the spy's latest adventure a giant thumbs-up.

Richard Kiel, 69, appeared as Jaws, one of the most memorable 007 bad guys, in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

His 7ft 2in frame and steel bite gave Roger Moore cause for raised eyebrows during many screen run-ins.

Visiting the UK, this week, Kiel praised new Bond Daniel Craig but said it was unfair to compare Craig's reinvention of the secret agent as a cold-eyed killer with Moore's tongue-in-cheek interpretation.

He said: "It's kind of like comparing Cary Grant and Burt Reynolds.

"Daniel Craig is a very good actor. He's a tough guy but he's good-looking, kind of like a James Dean or Humphrey Bogart."

Despite being warmly remembered by fans of the franchise, Kiel said he had no intention of reprising the role of Jaws.

He said: "I'd love to but I think the new Bond is so realistic, it's a whole different kind of Bond. I don't think I'd fit in any more."

I think if he was in a Craig film he wouldn't fit in like he said. There hasn't been a memorable henchmen since him in my opinion.

Shady Tree

bondaholic007 wrote:

I think if he was in a Craig film he wouldn't fit in, like he said.

I'd agree were it not for the fact that in his novelisation of 'The Spy Who Loved Me' Christopher Wood portrayed Jaws as a genuinely scary assassin - showing that it IS possible to take this character seriously. With Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn and Lois Maxwell all gone, a cameo by Richard Kiel, playing Jaws straight, would make for a satisfying connection with the past. Pitting Jaws against Daniel Craig in a 'novelty' scene, or even bringing him back as a surprise ally (as he was at the end of 'Moonraker'), would also be a cool way of complicating the idea that Bond continuity has been rebooted for the Craig movies... and it would make the point that 'Bond is still Bond' whatever the shifts in tone over the years. Kiel says he'd "love to". If it was done right, the audience would love it too. Eon: do you have the courage?

Sir Miles

Shady Tree wrote:

bondaholic007 wrote:

I think if he was in a Craig film he wouldn't fit in, like he said.

I'd agree were it not for the fact that in his novelisation of 'The Spy Who Loved Me' Christopher Wood portrayed Jaws as a genuinely scary assassin - showing that it IS possible to take this character seriously. With Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn and Lois Maxwell all gone, a cameo by Richard Kiel, playing Jaws straight, would make for a satisfying connection with the past. Pitting Jaws against Daniel Craig in a 'novelty' scene, or even bringing him back as a surprise ally (as he was at the end of 'Moonraker'), would also be a cool way of complicating the idea that Bond continuity has been rebooted for the Craig movies... and it would make the point that 'Bond is still Bond' whatever the shifts in tone over the years. Kiel says he'd "love to". If it was done right, the audience would love it too. Eon: do you have the courage?

I hope they don't - it would be plain wrong for the direction Eon are currently heading in. I want 'proper' stories for the future, not comedic links with the past. Sorry.

Shady Tree

Oh, I agree with the direction that Eon have taken with their new Bond... but I also think that Craig has an aptitude for wry comedy, too, and that he needs some feeds to explore that aspect of his performance. A return for Kiel may seem harebrained but it would not be entirely without precedent. When David Hedison was resurrected as Felix Leiter after a break of 16 years, he played the character very differently from the light way he'd interpreted it alongside Roger Moore: he gave a darker, more dramatic performance to suit the tone of the then latest Bond, Timothy Dalton.

But if bringing back Kiel would be a step too far, how about this: let's see Christopher Lee return as a new character... perhaps as an elderly villain who pulls the strings behind Mr. White's "organisation"?

Lee was the Doctor No who never was...and his only go at playing a Bond villain to date, in TMWTGG, was marred by weaknesses in the production of that film. Lee would be excellent casting as the arch villain for the new age, bringing with him all his rich associations with Fleming and as an icon of the cinema.

DAWUSS

I could picture a return of Christopher Lee. Besides, I think most of today's audience wouldn't even recall TMWTGG

Sir_Miles_Messervy

Certain actors (like Lee) coming back to the series to take on new roles wouldn't be terrible. I do have to agree that bringing back old CHARACTERS would be a bad idea. It doesn't fit in with what they are trying to do with the franchise.

It would be impossible for Kiel to come back without making the audience think of Jaws. Jaws and Oddjob are undoubtedly the two most recognized henchmen from the series.

LOO7K OUT

I think that any actor could play the next vilain, as long as the part is well written.

I've always thought that the villains have been as well chosen as the Bonds. Sadly, the script doesn't do them justice - both for villain and Bond.

I've mentioned this before, but I've always thought that Christian Bale would be an excellent choice. He's an excellent method actor, plus the physiscal scenes would be spot on. The fight with him and Daniel Craig could have would be brutal, maybe even surpass From Russia With Love.

Duncan

bondaholic007

LOO7K OUT wrote:

I think that any actor could play the next vilain, as long as the part is well written.

I've always thought that the villains have been as well chosen as the Bonds. Sadly, the script doesn't do them justice - both for villain and Bond.

I've mentioned this before, but I've always thought that Christian Bale would be an excellent choice. He's an excellent method actor, plus the physiscal scenes would be spot on. The fight with him and Daniel Craig could have would be brutal, maybe even surpass From Russia With Love.

Duncan

You know that would be a good idea. Bond would of met his match and I hopefully as successful like The Dark Knight. Christian Bale is now at his climax but it could get better for him, BATMAN / Terminator 4. He would be a good actor for a villian. Well though up. I think he should be in a Craig film though not any other actor. Wasnt Bale ament to be in the top 10 to be the new Bond ?

Grishenko

Bringing back Jaws is a great idea. Bond hasn't always been the most serious character, but he has been reinvented in a more serious incarnation in Casino Royale and, presumably, Quantum of Solace. There is no reason to believe the same thing can't be done with Jaws, who at times in his first two outings was genuinely frightening.

Of course, there is very little chance of this happening...

Shady Tree

Grishenko wrote:

Bringing back Jaws is a great idea. Bond hasn't always been the most serious character, but he has been reinvented in a more serious incarnation in Casino Royale and, presumably, Quantum of Solace. There is no reason to believe the same thing can't be done with Jaws, who at times in his first two outings was genuinely frightening.

Of course, there is very little chance of this happening...

Yes, it's easy to overlook the potential for creepiness and scariness that Jaws had in 'The Spy Who Loved Me' - especially in the earlier scenes set in Egypt - because our collective memory of the character tends to be filtered through the broad comedy of his later appearance in 'Moonraker'.

In the right hands, a rebooted Kiel-Jaws could become a credible adversary of Craig's Bond - similar to what the Dark Night's Joker is to the Joker of the 60s TV version of Batman. In fact, I could just hear Craig, if asked whether he knows this larger-than-life assassin, deliver an old line of Roger Moore's in his own steely, wry style: "Not socially. His name's Jaws. He kills people."

And how cool it would be to see on a movie poster or in a credits sequence: with JUDI DENCH as 'M' and RICHARD KIEL as 'JAWS'