Two actors have been strongly linked with the role of the villain for Bond 23 for some time now, but one of them has let slip that they've got the role.
Following on from last week’s round up of Bond news, the film now appears to finally have its villain in place. And said villain is definitely being played by Javier Bardem. There seems little doubt that he'll be able to carry a decent physical threat in his role as Bond’s nemesis. He might just be a match in the charisma stakes, too.
He had been rumoured for a role in the film as early as January of this year, but Bardem confirmed his involvement whilst being interviewed by ABC Nightline about raising awareness for refugee camps in Western Sahara. He said that "I am very excited. My parents took me to watch the movies and I saw all of them so to play that is going to be fun.”
It’s still unclear as to whether he’ll be playing an original villain or providing a new spin on a character that has previously been seen in the previous films. Bardem was reluctant to provide any details, which is understandable. Either way the casting of someone of the calibre of Bardem is exciting news indeed.
There are still detractors of Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond, but for me, his take on the character was exactly what I wanted after losing enthusiasm for 007 during the Brosnan reign. It's not a popular opinion, but I re-watched Quantum Of Solace recently, and think it’s a pretty decent effort that suffered as following Casino Royale was always going to be problematic.
Sam Mendes is set to direct the 23rd Bond film, that’s rumoured to be titled Skyfall. It's due in November 2012.
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