While the mantle of 007 will always be the focal point of any James Bond movie, it’s oftentimes the movie’s villains that bring the color and character to proceedings. Christopher Lee, Chrisotpher Walken, Mads Mikkelsen, and Javier Bardem are just a few names who have shone on screen as Bond villains and gone down in movie history as brilliant Bond baddies.
While the rumor mill around who will be the next 007 himself keeps milling, allow us to set up a rival rumor mill focusing on who could be the next Bond villain. So, below, find 10 great actors we think could be superb 007 bad guys.
Idris Elba
This one may be a controversial choice given how many people want Elba for Bond but the actor is likely too old for the main role and has already ruled himself out of the running anyway. So how fun would it be to see this twist with Elba as the villain? From an acting point of view, it would certainly be an interesting choice for Elba and would be very satisfying for fans to see Elba in the role of a villain like he was in “Beasts of No Nation.” This could be similar to how Sean Bean, who was a popular Bond pick then, was the villain in the 1995 Pierce Brosnan Bond movie “GoldenEye.”
Gary Oldman
Oldman has a long line of playing villains, including his turns in “The Fifth Element,” “Air Force One,” “True Romance,” “The Book of Eli,” and the titular vampire in Francis Ford Coppola‘s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” Oldman may be tired of playing a villain by now but surely he could be tempted to come out of bad guy retirement and feature as the antagonist in a Bond movie? It may be too good of an opportunity to pass up for everyone’s favorite British baddie.
Tony Leung
Bond films are always international so an international bad guy, like there was in “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall,” and “Spectre,” makes sense. The Hong Kong actor is such a special performer and is capable of demonstrating so much with so little. He showed how good he was to worldwide audiences in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” in which he played the villain with such presence, poise, quiet danger, and imposing intelligence. Leung would be an excellent choice.
Pedro Pascal
Pascal is the hottest actor around right now. With roles in “The Last of Us” and “The Mandalorian,” Bond producer Barbara Broccoli couldn’t ask for a more fashionable name at the moment. Pascal has the charisma and star power, like Bardem, to pull off a villain and did so in “Wonder Woman: 1984.” He’d fit into the world of 007 effortlessly.
Tilda Swinton
Swinton is one of the most unique actors in the world. She is capable of bringing the weird and wacky in pretty serious movies, as she did in “Snowpiercer,” and can also bring serious levity to weird and wacky movies, too, as she did in “Doctor Strange.” She has such theatrical presence and she’d be a different type of threat than Bond has ever had before.
Emma Thompson
Likewise, Thompson could also fit that bill. The double Oscar winner seems, at first, more of a fit for a future role as M (currently held by Ralph Fiennes) but that would work here. Perhaps she comes from the same bureaucratic world as M does and that could be where her villainy lies. Whatever the case, Thompson is a commanding performer who could take Bond down a peg or two.
Lars Mikkelsen
It’s already in the family with this Danish actor. Lars’ brother Mads played the villain Le Chiffre in “Casino Royale” and fans fell in love with the actor. The same could happen here for Lars but the difference is, Lars already has a large following thanks to his villainous turns in the TV show “Sherlock.” He’s also debuted as the live-action version of the “Star Wars” villain Grand Admiral Thrawn in “Ahsoka,” after he originated the role in the animated series “Rebels.” Mikkelsen knows how to carry a show as an enigmatic, scheming baddie, and he would steal the show in a Bond movie.
Claes Bang
Another Dracula actor and another Danish actor — there’s something about the Danes, like us Brits, that make such good villains. Bang became the definitive version of Count Dracula in the BBC show “Dracula” — he was insatiable as Dracula and brought such wit, sexiness, and playfulness to the role that you couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Bang starred as another bad guy in Apple TV+’s “Bad Sisters,” where he showed how well he can play nasty and volatile.
Cate Blanchett
Blanchett has played villains before — colorful turns in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Thor: Ragnarok” — so she could certainly bring to life a Bond villain here. The two-time Oscar winner would bring gravitas, drama, and weight to the role and would kick off a new Bond era with something entirely different.
Paul Giamatti
Earlier this year, Giamatti publicly declared that one of his dream roles would be a Bond villain. He stated that he’d love to be a throw-back Bond villain complete with evil lair and cat on his lap. The character actor could portray any kind of role he wanted — he’s appeared in comedy, drama, and everything in between. His colorful appearance in another legacy franchise — “Planet of the Apes” — demonstrates how much fun he’d have with the role and how much he understands these types of movies.
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