Worst actor to ever appear in a bond film?

Jarvio

Worst actor to ever appear in a bond film?

I'd say the guy who plays Mr Kil in DAD.

Who do you think?

Thunderpussy

I think all the actors did a fine job in whichever Bond they appeared in, sadly though due
to some miss casting a couple of mistakes have ( in my opinion ) occurred.
D Richards and T Roberts, both beautiful and talented but one was unsuited to her role.
the other simply had some annoying dialogue, which mainly seemed to be screaming
" James " over and over.

Blackleiter

Madonna?

Jarvio

Blackleiter wrote:

Madonna?

She was pretty bad, but I honestly think Mr Kil was worse... and maybe Goldie

Mister Greene

I totally agree Richards and Roberts were terrible

Brosnan_fan

Interesting question - I'll say Christopher Walken. He comes across as bland and uninteresting to me.

Toby Stephens (for much the same reasons) comes a very close second.

AirJordanFan93

Denise Richards: I guess her casting as a nuclear physisist is cause to say shes bad but she is pretty awful in TWINE especially compared to Sophie Marcaeu

Halle Berry: I guess maybe its because they tried really hard to make her one of the top tier Bond girls but I think shes pretty bad in DAD. They try to make us beleive shes the female counterpart to Bond which was done much better by Michelle Yeoh in TND.

Tanya Roberts: Basically the same as Richards her casting as a geologist is easy to target but she doesn't really add anything besides scream JAMES!!

Number24

I think Denise Richards would have worked fine if she was cast in a Plenty O'Tool type of role, where she mainly needed to be fun and hot. The problem was she was completely miscast as a scientist.

There have been many bland and uninteresting Felix Leiters in the series. What they should have done was to cast one exellent charecter actor for each Bond actor, like they did with Jeffrey Wright.
In my opinion the Felix in TLD was particularely bland.

AirJordanFan93

Number24 wrote:

I think Denise Richards would have worked fine if she was cast in a Plenty O'Tool type of role, where she mainly needed to be fun and hot. The problem was she was completely miscast as a scientist.

There have been many bland and uninteresting Felix Leiters in the series. What they should have done was to cast one exellent charecter actor for each Bond actor, like they did with Jeffrey Wright.
In my opinion the Felix in TLD was particularely bland.

I think the Felix from TLD is the worst they had that guy could of been a random CIA guy he is no Jack Lord thats for sure.

Thunderbird 2

AirJordanFan93 wrote:

Number24 wrote:

I think Denise Richards would have worked fine if she was cast in a Plenty O'Tool type of role, where she mainly needed to be fun and hot. The problem was she was completely miscast as a scientist.

There have been many bland and uninteresting Felix Leiters in the series. What they should have done was to cast one exellent charecter actor for each Bond actor, like they did with Jeffrey Wright.
In my opinion the Felix in TLD was particularely bland.

I think the Felix from TLD is the worst they had that guy could of been a random CIA guy he is no Jack Lord thats for sure.

That's interesting, because David Heddison played Felix in LALD and was very good there. For me it was only the final scene where he was too happy that it did not work. However that is poor direction and lck of continuity, as much as anything else.

Some of these issues stem from casting and type. Laurence Makore who played Mr Kil is good at action in the LOTR films, but Kil is a shockingly unoriginal character. It does not help that in looks, build, tone of voice and hairstyle he looks like a repeat of John Seru as Gabor from the previous film. However Gabor was a constant element alongside Electra, wheras Kil fills a slot in a tickbox kind of way.

Others are miscasting. Charles Gray's Blofeld, Denise Richards as Jones and I'd include John Cleese, because R should have remained R. We got too little screen time for him to become established as a Q. By contrast, both Mr Llewellyn and more recenty Mr Wishaw make an impression because they have an impact the moment they appear. (I still say the Skyfall Q should be established as Major Boothroyds grandson!)
Other examples are just characters that don't fit the story or set up. Sherriff PepperBibi Dahl and Stacey Sutton are examples where the actor has tried to do their best with the material at hand, yet you still cringe. The character does not fit the set up.
For me Madonna is not problem because she has little screen time, and plays her part by the numbers.

The Domino Effect

I agree with all those who said Denise Richards and Tanya Roberts. Despite the small role, I have to also agree with Madonna. I'll add Maryam D'Abo and Lynn-Holly Johnson....and, although this will be unpopular in some corners, I have to add George Lazenby.

Blackleiter

Mister Greene wrote:

I totally agree Richards and Roberts were terrible

Me, too. I would have picked them, but I thought that choice would have been too obvious.

Peppermill

Thunderbird 2 wrote:

AirJordanFan93 wrote:

Number24 wrote:

I think Denise Richards would have worked fine if she was cast in a Plenty O'Tool type of role, where she mainly needed to be fun and hot. The problem was she was completely miscast as a scientist.

There have been many bland and uninteresting Felix Leiters in the series. What they should have done was to cast one exellent charecter actor for each Bond actor, like they did with Jeffrey Wright.
In my opinion the Felix in TLD was particularely bland.

I think the Felix from TLD is the worst they had that guy could of been a random CIA guy he is no Jack Lord thats for sure.

That's interesting, because David Heddison played Felix in LALD and was very good there. For me it was only the final scene where he was too happy that it did not work. However that is poor direction and lck of continuity, as much as anything else.

(...)

I believe he is talking about John Terry, David Haddison is Leiter in LTK.

Thunderbird 2

Oops, I always mix up Daltons two films! Yes J Terry was very blank!

Number24

That's right. David Heddison was one of the better Felix Leiters in spite of his last scene in LTK. I see someone mentioned Maryam d'Abo in TLD. I think she was good in that movie and I don't understand why she's mentioned.

Blackleiter

Number24 wrote:

That's right. David Heddison was one of the better Felix Leiters in spite of his last scene in LTK. I see someone mentioned Maryam d'Abo in TLD. I think she was good in that movie and I don't understand why she's mentioned.

I don't think she's bad - just rather bland.

Number24

I think we have to agree to disagree on that one.

Jarvio

Brosnan_fan wrote:

Interesting question - I'll say Christopher Walken. He comes across as bland and uninteresting to me.

Toby Stephens (for much the same reasons) comes a very close second.

I can see your point for Toby Stephens, but... Christopher Walken?

Jarvio

Thunderbird 2 wrote:

Some of these issues stem from casting and type. Laurence Makore who played Mr Kil is good at action in the LOTR films, but Kil is a shockingly unoriginal character.

I wasn't aware that this actor was in LOTR - it's been a long time since I saw them. So maybe he's a better actor than I thought... but solely on his performance in DAD, while the character itself and script were not great anyway, I thought his delivery of lines were really awful - "I'll use the laser"

Charmed & Dangerous

Unfortunately for Maryam d'Abo, her character is a retrograde step compared to many of the more independent, strong Bond women of the earlier films. She's no worse than other actors, if as BL rightly says a little bland, but her character wasn't written as interestingly as Pussy Galore or Honey Rider. Britt Ekland suffers the same fate compared to Maud Adams in TMWTGG.

Number24

IMO there are two pitfalls the producers have fallen into several times when it comes to Bond girls.
The first is the "Oh James" type. This is the helpless, sometimes even dumb type portrayed by Tanya Roberts, Britt Ekland and others. Maryam d'Abo falls into this category, I guess, but she is far from the worst offender.

The other type is "Bond's equal". Let me make myself clear: I have nothing against strong women, on film or in real life. I also enjoy action movies with female protagonists. The problem is this has turned into a cliche. Sometimes it works fine with a Bond girl being Bond's equal, Wei Lin in TND is a good example. In my opinion bond girls work best if they have a strong story and character, but the writers didn't feel the need to make them action heroes. Vesper Lynd is perhaps the best example of this. In resent years every woman cast oposite Bond seems to claim she's Bond's equal in interviews. Sometimes Bond girls sometimes switch categories. Rosie Carver in LALD was set up to be a "Bond's equal", but really came across as an "Oh James".

I guess I needed to get that of my chest.

Thunderbird 2

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

Unfortunately for Maryam d'Abo, her character is a retrograde step compared to many of the more independent, strong Bond women of the earlier films. She's no worse than other actors, if as BL rightly says a little bland, but her character wasn't written as interestingly as Pussy Galore or Honey Rider. Britt Ekland suffers the same fate compared to Maud Adams in TMWTGG.

There is another aspect that can strengthen or stangle a character, characterisation balance. A good example is Tanner and Robertson in the Brosnan films. Michael Kitchen and Colin Salmon are good actors, with the former in GE, and the later in TND. However the first scene at Thane castle in TWINE feels a bit top heavy to me, because it becomes clear there was only so much dialogue that could be squeezed out of the briefing scene, and both characters and M had to say something. The problem corrects itself later on when one or the other is absent.
It will be interesting to see how they structure office scenes in the next film now we have all the establishment in place.

Re Walken as Zorin, his performance was fine, the problem is the character and story are a template reuse of Goldfinger. A lot of the Bond villians are variations of Mr Wisemans Dr No, but Zorinnis more if a checklist baddie than normal. The fact he has Kamal Khan before him and Koskov after him magnifies this to a degree.

No 24 I agree re Kara Milovy. I get the impression she was written the way she was to make the betrayal scene more credible, and to create a fish out of water type of situation. Having seen Bond Girls Are Forever, written and presented by D'abo, I have often wondered how it would have been if she had played a character more like Pam Bouvier.
Personally Vesper is my favorite Bond woman, both because of Eva Green, but also because the character gives Bond a run for his money. Something Daniel Craig plays against very well.

AlphaOmegaSin

AirJordanFan93 wrote:

Denise Richards: I guess her casting as a nuclear physisist is cause to say shes bad but she is pretty awful in TWINE especially compared to Sophie Marcaeu

Halle Berry: I guess maybe its because they tried really hard to make her one of the top tier Bond girls but I think shes pretty bad in DAD. They try to make us beleive shes the female counterpart to Bond which was done much better by Michelle Yeoh in TND.

Tanya Roberts: Basically the same as Richards her casting as a geologist is easy to target but she doesn't really add anything besides scream JAMES!!

I'm glad that the planned Spin off with her never went ahead.

AirJordanFan93

AlphaOmegaSin wrote:

AirJordanFan93 wrote:

Denise Richards: I guess her casting as a nuclear physisist is cause to say shes bad but she is pretty awful in TWINE especially compared to Sophie Marcaeu

Halle Berry: I guess maybe its because they tried really hard to make her one of the top tier Bond girls but I think shes pretty bad in DAD. They try to make us beleive shes the female counterpart to Bond which was done much better by Michelle Yeoh in TND.

Tanya Roberts: Basically the same as Richards her casting as a geologist is easy to target but she doesn't really add anything besides scream JAMES!!

I'm glad that the planned Spin off with her never went ahead.

Thankfully they saw sense

JayCobb1045

I tend to fixate less on bad acting and more on odd acting choices. The way Bambi and Thumper deliver their lines, or Del Toro's "nice honeymooooooooooon" for example. There are so many other examples across different directors of just odd line readings that I have to wonder if it's something at the producer level.

Blackleiter

JayCobb1045 wrote:

I tend to fixate less on bad acting and more on odd acting choices. The way Bambi and Thumper deliver their lines, or Del Toro's "nice honeymooooooooooon" for example. There are so many other examples across different directors of just odd line readings that I have to wonder if it's something at the producer level.

I would add to that list Talisa Soto's "I love James.....so much!"

Thunderpussy

Well it was Timothy Dalton, the girls only human.

Blackleiter

Thunderpussy wrote:

Well it was Timothy Dalton, the girls only human.

True. But it wasn't the sentiment that bothered me - it was the odd, deadpan delivery!

Thunderpussy

( meant to put a happy face at the end )
As she's one of my favourite Bond girls, :x I never noticed her delivery. )
Too busy dreaming.

Blackleiter

Thunderpussy wrote:

( meant to put a happy face at the end )
As she's one of my favourite Bond girls, :x I never noticed her delivery. )
Too busy dreaming.

I've always said she's one of the best-looking Bond girls, that's for sure! :007)

Gassy Man

Soto.