Who would up-stage Daniel Craig in a Bond film??

Halcon

Babs stated that all actors that have played Bond were leading men, etc.

But it's obvious that Daniel Craig is not. I imagine that when casting his Bond flicks, care must be taken to not cast a guy opposite him (villian or otherwise) so as to not up-stage Craig.

In Skyfall this almost happened, and you could argue that it did somewhat, (the scene in which Silva escapes and goes after M, Bond basically dissapears in the background and Silva and Mallory's presence take over. At some point in this scene, it got tiresome watching Craig in fact.)

This never happened to, say, Connery or Moore. Who would up-stage Craig?

zaphod

Halcon wrote:

Babs stated that all actors that have played Bond were leading men, etc.

But it's obvious that Daniel Craig is not. I imagine that when casting his Bond flicks, care must be taken to not cast a guy opposite him (villian or otherwise) so as to not up-stage Craig.

In Skyfall this almost happened, and you could argue that it did somewhat, (the scene in which Silva escapes and goes after M, Bond basically dissapears in the background and Silva and Mallory's presence take over. At some point in this scene, it got tiresome watching Craig in fact.)

This never happened to, say, Connery or Moore. Who would up-stage Craig?

I agree that he was not a leading man when cast, but neither was Connery or you could argue Brosnan. Since playing Bond has he not by definition become a leading man? Really interested to hear your thoughts. Perhaps you mean that Leading man is a quality or qualities and not a function of biog or roles played.

Blackleiter

Maybe I'm just dense, but that's not at all obvious to me. I think Craig does fine as a leading man. I believe he has the presence and acting skills that allow him to hold the screen, even when he's not speaking. Of course it is possible that there's an actor who might upstage Craig in a particular scene or film, as some may feel Bardem did in Skyfall, but it's not because Craig is not a leading man. As for the other Bond actors, I think Christopher Walken upstaged Roger Moore somewhat in A View To A Kill.

Halcon wrote:

But it's obvious that Daniel Craig is not.

Nick37

Robert Downy Jr.

You may laugh, but RDJ has shown he can play in the big leagues. He's headlined two major franchises, (Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man) And steals the ensemble film "The Avengers". A Tony Starkish villain or ally would definitely give Craig a run for his money.

Christoph Waltz

He hasn't risen quite to the popularity of RDJ, but he's making a name for himself. He'll probably never be a romantic lead (He's beyond the age and not quite the right look) But he's shown he can steal films from the best of them. I daresay he's more memorable than Brad Pitt in "Inglorious Basterds", and he absolutely steals "Django Unchained" from both Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio, though both of them are excellent, the vibe from most who've seen it say once Waltz' character is no longer part of the plot, the film isn't as good.

Michael Fassbender

After his breakout performance in "X-Men: First Class", many stated that Fassbender seemed to be doing an extended screen test for James Bond, and rightly so. There's definitely a vibe of 60s Sean Connery and the dark Timothy Dalton in his portrayal of Erik Lehnsherr, and Fassbender pulls off three-piece suits and rollnecks with a leather jacket with equal ease. A lot of people think that if Fassbender isn't the next Bond, he should be.

If Fassbender were cast as a rival 00 who teams up with Bond or even a classy villain, I think many would be left wondering how Fassbender would be as the actual role of James Bond. And he'd definitely give Craig a run for his money in any scenes they shared.

Halcon

zaphod wrote:

Halcon wrote:

Babs stated that all actors that have played Bond were leading men, etc.

But it's obvious that Daniel Craig is not. I imagine that when casting his Bond flicks, care must be taken to not cast a guy opposite him (villian or otherwise) so as to not up-stage Craig.

In Skyfall this almost happened, and you could argue that it did somewhat, (the scene in which Silva escapes and goes after M, Bond basically dissapears in the background and Silva and Mallory's presence take over. At some point in this scene, it got tiresome watching Craig in fact.)

This never happened to, say, Connery or Moore. Who would up-stage Craig?

I agree that he was not a leading man when cast, but neither was Connery or you could argue Brosnan. Since playing Bond has he not by definition become a leading man? .

true, but then we've seen Woody Allen and Steve Carrell in 'leading man' roles too.

I'm referring to presence and 'status' on the screen perhaps. A commanding presence on screen is vital for a true leading man and status is naturally manifested when two actors share the screen.

for example, if Craig and Connery both appeared in the same scene (new Bond goes back in time and teams up with old Bond) Craig would look somewhat 'dwarfed' by Connery.

Ens007

Oh yippee ... Another Craig bashing thread

Like Blackleiter, I too must be dense as I find him to be a perfectly good leading man & more over, an excellent Bond.

Nick37

I'm not bashing. I think he's a great Bond. I'm merely answering the OPs question. There are only three people I can think of off the top of my head that could potentially steal scenes from Daniel Craig. But ultimately, it doesn't matter, because the film is about Bond. No matter how cool Silva is as a villain, he's still a secondary character.

Ens007

Nick37 wrote:

But ultimately, it doesn't matter, because the film is about Bond. No matter how cool Silva is as a villain, he's still a secondary character.

Spot on.

Napoleon Plural

It was said that only in the first Die Hard did Rickman steal the show from Willis, he is the man, and it was suggested that it never happened in any of the later Die Hards.

Halcon

Napoleon Plural wrote:

It was said that only in the first Die Hard did Rickman steal the show from Willis, he is the man, and it was suggested that it never happened in any of the later Die Hards.

good example.

I don't believe that Silva took away from Bond because Bardem did such a good job at performing the anticharacter. Had Silva had a scene with Bond as co-double 'O' agents (looking like Javier normally looks, sans blond hair) it's very possible that Craig might of played second fiddle in it.

In my opinion, Ralph Fiennes makes a HUGE effort so as to not upstage Craig. This man has tons of presence and is a natural leading man. But again, he plays the role of M in a way that doesn't take away from Craig.

which brings me to the very last scene of Skyfall by the way.
The set-up was suppose to inspire a feeling of 'awsomeness' in its homage to 'classic Bond', but the stage was TOO big for Craig. (literally since he appeared short compared to M and figuratively as you wished that a more classic Bond would of uttered the 'with pleasure, M' line.)

Thunderpussy

The Secenery, Perhaps.

Silhouette Man

I'd say Anthony Hopkins in the role of a James Bond villain - he's been rumoured to appear on numerous occasions. He'd be really great for Bond 24, though.

Halcon

Silhouette Man wrote:

I'd say Anthony Hopkins in the role of a James Bond villain - he's been rumoured to appear on numerous occasions. He'd be really great for Bond 24, though.

I always envisioned Mr. Hopkins as M.
As a villian, no doubt the best Blofield, if he did it.

Theundeadkennedy

There are actors capable of upstaging Daniel Craig in a Bond film, certain actors seem to steal the show in every movie they are in. Christoph Waltz is a great example. I would love to see him play a Bond villain, he would steal the show, but it would still be Craig's movie in the end and Cristoph's character would be dead.
That being said, I believe Craig had proven himself to be a leading man before he took on the role of 007. Layer Cake showed he had it and that movie is why I was excited when I found out he would be playing Bond.