Nightmare actor/film combinations
Manxman
Posts: 125MI6 Agent
There have been a number of films that have perfectly married the actor playing Bond to the mood and plot (OHMSS, Live And Let Die and Skyfall immediately spring to mind). But what would have been the worst possible combinations of actor and film (assuming that the relevant actors would have been the right age to play Bond at the time)? Here are my thoughts:
Sean Connery in Live And Let Die
It's not that Connery would necessarily have turned in a poor performance (though if he had continued in the vein of Diamonds Are Forever, that would have been a given); it's that Moore's Englishman-in-New York shtick, his polished suaveness and his humour were so perfect for this darkly comic Blaxploitation sendup.
George Lazenby in Tomorrow Never Dies
It's no secret that Lazenby is my favourite Bond, able to convey a superb range of emotions; however, the one thing he struggled with was throwaway puns, and seeing him attempting to tackle the profusion of "Carry On"-style sexual double entendres that make up much of Bond's dialogue in TND would have been excruciating.
Roger Moore in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
I like most aspects of Moore's performance, but find he often appears smarmy opposite female co-stars. Lazenby played the love scenes with Diana Rigg with a touching naïveté; I dread to think what Moore would have done with them.
Timothy Dalton in Diamonds Are Forever
I struggle to imagine Dalton in most of Moore's films (though he could have been impressive opposite Scaramanga in the dinner table scene in The Man With The Golden Gun), but I think the worst mismatch would have been with the campy humour of DAF.
Pierce Brosnan in Skyfall
I'm possibly being unfair on Brosnan here: he could play a slightly darker and more sensitive Bond when given the opportunity, as in The World Is Not Enough, but I still think he would have managed a fairly embarrassing Skyfall.
Daniel Craig in Moonraker
This is literally the stuff of nightmares. Moore was one of the few good things about the worst Bond film of all time (though I find it watchable until Bond reaches the Amazon, if one ignores the gondola chase).
Sean Connery in Live And Let Die
It's not that Connery would necessarily have turned in a poor performance (though if he had continued in the vein of Diamonds Are Forever, that would have been a given); it's that Moore's Englishman-in-New York shtick, his polished suaveness and his humour were so perfect for this darkly comic Blaxploitation sendup.
George Lazenby in Tomorrow Never Dies
It's no secret that Lazenby is my favourite Bond, able to convey a superb range of emotions; however, the one thing he struggled with was throwaway puns, and seeing him attempting to tackle the profusion of "Carry On"-style sexual double entendres that make up much of Bond's dialogue in TND would have been excruciating.
Roger Moore in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
I like most aspects of Moore's performance, but find he often appears smarmy opposite female co-stars. Lazenby played the love scenes with Diana Rigg with a touching naïveté; I dread to think what Moore would have done with them.
Timothy Dalton in Diamonds Are Forever
I struggle to imagine Dalton in most of Moore's films (though he could have been impressive opposite Scaramanga in the dinner table scene in The Man With The Golden Gun), but I think the worst mismatch would have been with the campy humour of DAF.
Pierce Brosnan in Skyfall
I'm possibly being unfair on Brosnan here: he could play a slightly darker and more sensitive Bond when given the opportunity, as in The World Is Not Enough, but I still think he would have managed a fairly embarrassing Skyfall.
Daniel Craig in Moonraker
This is literally the stuff of nightmares. Moore was one of the few good things about the worst Bond film of all time (though I find it watchable until Bond reaches the Amazon, if one ignores the gondola chase).
Comments
But such discussions aren't without interest. One thing I do think is that LIVE & LET DIE would not be made the same way had Connery returned again. A good example is Bond's first entrance into Harlem's Fillet of Soul bar. Moore's urbane fish out of water charm elicits ridicule & laughter from the clientele. This could never happen with Connery's Bond. He'd probably punch the first person who'd dare laugh at him! So yes, I can imagine a lot of these actors in those titles, but not the films being the same as we know them.