The next Hugo Drax?

Sir_Hugo_Drax

So I watched Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows today and witnessed who I think would make the greatest Sir Hugo Drax; if the character was to be re-used in the rebooted series in a future film. It is Jared Harris who played Professor James Moriarty:



Now in my eyes he is so close to being the incarnate form of Fleming's Drax. He has red (well it's reddish) hair, the appropriate body build, the face (no offense indented to Mr Harris, but honestly, with maybe a few additions in makeup, I could believe his face was scarred by botched surgery - in particular those eyes) and the acting talent (especially as a menacing villain ably demonstrated in this movie) needed to play the Drax from the novel. I won't even mention he is British as it is but the cherry on this cake.

Well that's my opinion. What do you think? -{


(P.S. Hi I'm new here so if this is in the wrong place or has already been covered extensively before, I apologise)

Napoleon Plural

Not bad, isn't he Irish though? He looks it a bit and of course is Richard Harris' son. Not quite the bluff ogre of Fleming's novel imo but come to think of it, that villain was atypical. Most of them have a certain distance and are a bit more refined in their manner. Harris is quite professorial in the Holmes film.

Sir_Hugo_Drax

As far as I know Jared is English and his father, Richard, was Irish.

And you have an interesting take on the Drax from the novels. I too have always considered him unique among the ranks of the No's and the Klebb's of the series (more ostentatiously outgoing, cunning and deceptively charming) but not quite as you have described. I'm goning to have to have another read to really see where you're coming from (any excuse to re-read Moonraker is a good excuse). Thanks for the feedback. -{

Napoleon Plural

Cheers Sir Hugo, and welcome to the forums. Worth pointing out that MR is unusual because it started off as a would-be movie, when it fell thru it became the third Bond novel. So Drax, uniquely for a Bond villain at the time, was a famous fictional figure we're all meant to know about. Carver in TND was a similar figure, meant to be famous (though it jars that we've never heard of him as an audience) and Graves too (who was modelled on Fleming's Drax in terms of his development, an uncouth fella at a gentleman's club with a phoney background.

Sir_Hugo_Drax

Thanks Napoleon.

I guess the name gives it away but Drax is probably my favourite of the Bond villains. I was however unaware of Moonraker's movie origins, though it was quite cinematic to read. That's an interesting piece of trivia.
As for villains reusing some of his traits and fictional status, although I don't despise DAD as much as some people tend to, I didn't feel Graves was quite on par with Drax, though clearly based on him as you described. I guess I always felt that although Graves was indeed designed as "an uncouth fella at a gentleman's club with a phoney background" it didn't really have the impact I would have preferred. That's my opinion of course.

One more thing, see as I suggested casting, I probably should also have asked, do you think, actor aside, Drax could even work in the rebooted franchise?

Obviously, I personally think he could. For interest's sake here's how I'd approach it: I would want to keep the back-story the same but for the sake of a contemporary setting I would change specific elements by making him the son of a Nazi who fled to South America. He (Graf Hugo von der Drache) would have grown up in an SS terrorist cell, raised a Nazi, including all the titbits of his childhood adjusted. In his early adulthood he would have been involved in the Nazi's operations, one of which (a bombing in London in the 90s perhaps where he is disguised as an Englishman) resulted in his injuries leading to his mistaken identification as Englishman Hugo Drax. Krebs would be one of his fellow Nazis, one of which he grew up with. Of course Moonraker's plot might not be so plausible today but for the most part I'm talking about the character. -{

Blood_Stone

Great pick, but he needs to be clean shaven.

Napoleon Plural

The best book for novel trivia is Henry Chancellor's one on Ian Fleming's novels (look it up on Amazon) where I got this info. I thought a way to redo Drax would be an Iraqi ex-pat in London who is an example of successful immigration, provides lots of jobs, Daily Mail likes him, but swears revenge. It's not too different to Graves however, just he was an awful villain in a useless film.

My main problem with the character is that he's famous. It prevents us from believing that what is going on could really happen, if you catch my drift, because you sit in the cinema seat thinking, if this guy is famous, I've never heard of him. Same with Carver in TND and his phoney newspaper. It puts Bond in a parallel universe.

Sir_Hugo_Drax

The book looks fantastic, just placed my order. Thanks of the recommendation. Plus that's a good point regarding the believability of their fame. I guess I always allowed my suspension of disbelief to turn a blind eye to those details in the past. Now that you've mentioned it I'll probably pay it more attention in future viewings for better or for worse.

I like your Iraqi ex-pat idea too. I personally would be quite interested to see a Middle Eastern conflict featured in a Bond film (post Soviet-Afghan era naturally). We've had a proclaimed "war on terror" over there for years and Bond's never really addressed it. Not exactly new territory but certainly fertile.

Blood_Stone wrote:
Great pick, but he needs to be clean shaven.

Cheers. I'm curious to your reason for him being clean shaven; I imagined he would have facial hair as he did in the novel. It'd be great to hear your reasons for this preference. -{

Blood_Stone

Cheers. I'm curious to your reason for him being clean shaven; I imagined he would have facial hair as he did in the novel. It'd be great to hear your reasons for this preference.

Just to separate himself from the Moriarity character like how Chris Evans grew his hair out to separate his performance of Steve Rogers from his portrayal as Johnny Storm.

Silhouette Man

I've always thought that the bombastic actor Brian Blessed would be right for the role of Sir Hugo "Hugger" Drax - a loudmouth and ogre like Sir Hugo was!