No, Please Not Another ‘Next Bond’ Article!

June 4, 2016June 4, 2016Altomedia Leave a comment

I am so sorry! Not only is this our 3rd article in the past year about the possible choices to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond, but we are getting bombarded lately from all sides with similar write-ups. I myself am getting tired of reading basically the same article, with the same list of contenders, over and over again! If you read one, you read them all. Are journalists copying each other now?

Then there is the fan casting, like by scatronixx …this is not how things work! You find an actor that fits the role, not the other way around. The character of James Bond, that Ian Fleming created, is a white British male. Just because of all that talk about “white washing” in Hollywood, we don’t have to use political correctness in casting. Aside from the fact that Idris Elba is too old, if you want a black agent, why not do a spin-off with a black 006? If you want a female spy, why not revamp ‘Emma Peel’, or cast a woman as 004? That way everybody is happy. But let James be James, not Jane.

There were some funny reactions to ‘Jane Bond’ on Twitter. One guy suggested that in exchange for a female Bond we should re-think some female characters as well. He has a valid point, sounds only fair to me. So how about a ‘Cinderfella’? Other suggestions were ‘Sleeping Beau’, ‘Pocahoncho” or ‘Mark Poppins’. Our kids will be so confused! I have no issues with casting gays, lesbians, transgender actors, or any other color of that rainbow, as long as they play their characters true to their original story. Don’t mess with my childhood memories!

Then there are jokes and rumors like Theo James being confirmed as the next James Bond. That article originated from a site that added the disclaimer:” All stories on this site are satire and the opinions expressed do not belong to any real people.” I guess nobody bothered to read to the very end?

I think Vanity Fair is correct in saying the next Bond will not be who you expect, according to an interview with Sam Mendes who directed the last two James Bond movies, and is exiting the franchise. For example Tom Hiddleston is a great actor, but too charming and boyish, he does not have that “dangerous” vibe. I love Henry Cavill, but James Bond can’t be confused on screen with Superman. Tom Hardy is a bit too rough around the edges. Jamie Bell would have to wear elevator shoes, or have very petite Bond girls, as he is only 5’7″short.”Kinky Boots” anybody? Again, Idris Elba is not only too old with 44, since most 00-agents retire at age 45, he also has his own franchise “The Dark Tower”, and James Bond is not a man of color.

It will be entirely up to Barbara Broccoli to select her next agent. It might be a fresh and new face, or an up-and-coming actor, who is just starting to get more and more name recognition, like Luke Evans. I just can’t imagine anybody who is already too well known as another character, or too closely linked to another franchise.

In any case, if they cast a woman or Mickey Mouse as the next Bond, it might really be the ‘Last Bond’!

“The Power Of Fandom” – The GQ James Bond Poll Part 2

October 30, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

We just wrote about the power of fan’s voices on Social Media and their impact 6 days ago. Now, as of today, we have the result! The good news is, Luke Evans won in a tight, head to head race! This is a huge accomplishment since he was not on the original list of contenders, but a wildcard entry. His fans worked tirelessly until yesterday 6pm UK time, and waited anxiously for the result until this morning.
When Mr. Evans realized he had won, he tweeted a very sweet, personal message for his fandom, the people that had supported and voted for him, as a “Thank you”, and yes, they knew who he meant!

“The power of fandom” tweeted by Luke Evans

That tweet was so warm, friendly and personal, it made all the previous work worthwhile!
The only thing that ruined this special moment for his Luketeers a bit, was how GQ had handled it. The writer for GQ, that had run and written for the GQ ‘Battle Of The Bonds ‘poll, a Mr. Max Williams, who can be found at his Twitter account @maxwykeham, has an interesting writing style. While I may enjoyed some clever remarks as witty and funny, I could interpret others as veiled insults or backhanded compliments. This morning the article about Luke Evans winning the poll was online for 1 hour before GQ Magazine even tweeted it! Fans were already congratulating Mr. Evans and each other until, finally, GQ officially made their announcement.

Congratulation tweet created by @FrenchLuketeer on behalf of other fans

The second disappointment was the article that Mr. Williams had written for GQ Magazine. After all those hints at “Pride” and “proud” I don’t find his article very polite or professional. We all know what Luke Evans’ Wiki page says, there is really no need to repeat it 3 times in one paragraph just to maybe further one’s personal agenda. Don’t try to claim a celebrity as a poster child for your own purposes, that is not the right thing to do.

I am tired of political correctness. It shouldn’t matter if a person is black or white, male or female to become President Of The United States. We should just elect the best person for the job!
It also makes no difference if an actor is black or white, or what he does in his personal life. A studio should select, in an ideal world, an actor based on his talent and if he has the right look for the role! Luke Evans looks very much like a James Bond with his masculine, chiseled face. He has proven he can play not only dark roles, but he also stood next to Vin Diesel, who highly recommended him for the next James Bond, in front of cameras in the action movie ‘Fast & Furious 6’. So he is obviously well qualified. His personal life has nothing to do with it!

It is one thing what I write on my personal blog or what Mr. Williams writes for GQ Magazine. We just expected a magazine with a good reputation like that to be a little more classy.

To finish this story, we just saw an interesting article by Deadline Hollywood about auctioning off the rights to the next James Bond movie. Several studios like Warner, MGM and Paramount are part of the chase. It looks like it’s going to be a wild ride until the next studio and the next James Bond will team up, but we really hope that this James Bond poll put the name Luke Evans on people’s radars, and studios and agents are taking notice!

Fan’s Voices On Social Media And Their Impact On Selecting The Next James Bond

October 23, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

We have written before about the importance of an actor’s visibility on Social Media. If equally qualified actors compete for the same role, a studio might pick the one that is more active, talked about and followed on Social Media.
We also speculated about the next James Bond in a previous article. But there have been some interesting new developments lately. Entertainment Weekly correctly writes “Somehow it’s become unofficial law that Idris Elba’s name must be a part of any conversation about who would be the next best James Bond.”
So when Anthony Horowitz, the author of a new James Bond novel, said in an interview that Idris Elba is “too street” he caused an outrage and quickly apologized on Twitter.

Elba appeared on several TV shows and gave interviews, but denied that there was any truth to the rumors after the ‘Sony Leak’.

Then the British GQ Magazine started their James Bond weeks in time for the premiere of the new 007 movie ‘SPECTRE’ with articles about the Bonds of the past, the cars, the style and they announced a James Bond poll!

The Battle Of The Bonds by the British GQ Magazine

For one week fans could vote for one of eight candidates or write in their own choice in a comment box. Apparently the name Luke Evans must have come up often enough because he was added to a list of ten contenders in a pre-round. By the end of that round the two with the least votes were eliminated and the remaining eight paired up.

By the end of the Pre Round Luke Evans was in 4th place

The Luke Evans fandoms were happy! He made it from not being on the list into the top four! But how would he do matched up against a strong contender like Idris Elba? GQ predicted a win by a “white Persian cat’s whisker” for Luke Evans, calling it the tie of the round! But with the strong support of his fans Mr. Evans beat Mr. Elba with the healthy margin of 63 percent!

British GQ Magazine’s prediction for round 1

During that first round some tweets suspected foul play when fans realized that the voting link for all candidates had the name of Idris Elba embedded. So everytime somebody shared their voting result using the link from GQ Magazine, it would show up under Elba’s mentions, which seemed an unfair advantage. But at the beginning of round 2 it became obvious that the complaints had been noticed when the remaining four semifinalists were introduced by GQ Magazine as shown:

Beginning of Battle Of The Bonds, Tom Hardy versus Luke Evans

Now we have four contenders left competing for the next James Bond’s tuxedo. So far Henry Cavill has a clear lead over Aidan Turner and Luke Evans left Tom Hardy in the dust with a surprising 86 percent thanks to his fans voting, tweeting and supporting him.

Luke Evans for 007 edit by Rocio Ramirez

Using the hashtag #LukeEvansFor007 the so-called Luketeers are sharing their personal edits and interpretations of Luke Evans as the next Bond on Twitter.

#LukeEvansFor007 edit by Karla Marx

Luke Evans edit by Jonny Gillard

Today we heard that another big name threw his support behind Luke Evans. Vin Diesel says as quoted by Digital Spy that his “Fast & Furious co-star Luke Evans should play James Bond.” Considering that Vin stood together with Luke in front of cameras in an action movie he would know what his co-star is capable of, and with a fan base of 100 million on Social Media his support means a lot. Maybe Sony Pictures already picked their next Bond actor, but even if they did, they must have taken notice how many people are talking and tweeting about Luke Evans.

This is what I personally love about Social Media. You can take a stand, engage yourself and all our voices together really do matter and can make a difference.

Luke Evans Talks Sex Scenes In ‘High Rise’ And Finally Getting A Chance To Sing In A Movie

September 22, 2015September 22, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

Luke Evans has been making the rounds promoting his new film High Rise where he co-stars with Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) and Sienna Miller (American Sniper).

The Ben Wheatley movie was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and the stars have been meeting fans and talking to the press about the anti-capitalist indie film.

During an interview published in El Mundo, the Welsh actor confessed sex scenes are not his favorite.

“Doing sex scenes in front of the camera is very uncomfortable for me. Also, these sequences are hard on the technical staff. When I saw the movie for the first time, there were scenes I didn’t remember filming. I don’t know what Ben put in my coffee, but it worked.”

Sienna Miller (American Sniper) said she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work for Wheatley whom she called “one of the most stimulant directors with a unique, original script.”

Luke Evans adds his role was completely different than other offers he has received and Wheatley had enough faith in him to cast him as Richard Wilder, and he let the director exploit his limits.

High Rise, which has been well received by critics and is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by J.G. Ballard, tells the story of the residents of a skyscraper who face social injustices depending on where they live.

Luke Evans also spoke of spending a large portion of filming covered in blood for his scenes and how he finally gets to sing in a movie, a dream he’s had for many years.

I spent 20 days covered in blood, but I’m not complaining because I’m a professional.”

“I’ve been singing all my live. I’m from Wales, where you’re born singing. I spent 10-years doing musicals in London and I’ve waited a long time for a movie in which to display my musical talents.”

You can watch Luke Evans, Tom Hiddleston, and Sienna Miller in High Rise which his scheduled to come to the U.S. on September 26.

[Image via Recorded Picture Company]

Waiting For Mr. Wilder To Make It To The Top Of The High Rise Movie!

September 2, 2015September 2, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

Ever since High Rise was a wrap on August 4th 2014 fans of J.G.Ballard as well as the many fandoms of Luke Evans and Tom Hiddleston have been waiting impatiently for the release of this independent film.

Anniversary tweet of the wrap on High Rise

To get a better understanding and to pass the time I read the book. It was not easy, lots of metaphors, not many dialogues, disturbingly dark and unsettling. It describes how a class war erupts inside a luxury apartment building between the residents of the lower floors and the elite residing on top. Elevators, the pool and hallways become battlegrounds while the cocktail parties continue. Society unravels and the residents reverse back to primal animals driven by the law of the concrete jungle they live in.
Luke Evans plays Wilder, a burly macho living with his family on one of the lower floors. The book describes his ascend through ruthless fighting to the top of the building, while Dr. Laing, played by Tom Hiddleston, a resident of one of the higher middle floors, is trying to understand what is going on around him and with himself during parties and affairs with his female neighbors.

It was upsetting to read how the pets in the high rise become a food source for the residents, or rape and murder of neighbors the new norm in a competition of survival of the fittest. But I also kept wondering how this book would translate into a movie. If Mr. Wheatley stayed true to the storyline of the book we would be in for some very interesting scenes!

For a long time fans had been asking on social media for a trailer of the highly anticipated movie until on May 27th Luke Evans did retweet a post from Tony McGregor of a “high rise trailer”! Just not exactly the one we all had been waiting for!

Not exactly the high rise trailer we had in mind!

On August 25th the twitter account of High-Rise movie finally announced the World Premiere for Sunday 13th September at the Elgin Theatre during the Toronto Film Festival! The Rollingstone lists High-Rise among the must see movies!

Now we were getting one announcement after the other! High-rise will be shown next at Fantastic Fest according to LA Times and then it will head on over to London to be shown at BFI where it is one of the 7 films you have to see if you believe Mashable.

Now after waiting all this time for a trailer of the High Rise movie we just saw a post by slashfilm that there will be no High Rise trailer! Well, it’s only another 11 days to go until the World Premiere and it is not looking good for us fans! But it would be nice if people writing or tweeting about this film would acknowledge the whole first class cast besides Tom Hiddleston…..there is Luke Evans as Wilder, known as Bard from The Hobbit, Jeremy Irons playing the character Royal, Sienna Miller, Elisabeth Moss and more!

Then there is also the subject of distribution. German fans are afraid they might have to wait a year, no distributors yet for the UK or the US. It is a tough life being a fan! I really hope we all get to see it eventually and be able to compare it to the book!

To Film Or Not To Film – The Musical Chairs Game Of Luke Evans’ Many Projects

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

I want to start with one of Luke’s quotes: “It’s just hard to get an independent film made.”
At the beginning of 2015 it looked as if the new year would be packed full with so many new projects for Luke Evans that our heads were spinning! He wrapped up his part in Message from The King very quickly earlier this year in March.
While we were waiting for filming for Free Fire by Ben Wheatley to begin, we got the wonderful news Luke was cast as Gaston in the new big screen adaptation of Beauty And The Beast!

Free Fire by Ben Wheatley

Luke started filming as Gaston on April 7th, and we were wondering when he would have time for the rest of his lined up projects. Not only Free Fire, but also SAS Red Notice, and let’s not forget the debacle about The Crow, which we did describe in a previous article on here at Alto Media.

Five weeks ago, on July 18th, Luke posted from Philadelphia, where Three Seconds was supposed to start filming soon! Otto Bathurst, the director, tweeted back on August 6th “Go Luke!! #3SECONDS ready for you”.

Luke Evans’ Post from July 18th

We watched posts and casting calls asking for hundreds of extras sought for filming the prison scenes in Greensburg during the following days.
Only three days ago, on August 22nd, Luke announced his wrap of Beauty And The Beast on his social media accounts with ” Last day on BATB today”.

We all expected for him to head to Philadelphia to start shooting Three Seconds, yet instead I woke up today to this article on PhillyChitChat by Hugh E Dillon! Shortly there was a second write up by Phillymag and later this by Project Casting. So as of now Three Seconds looks like it is not going to take off, but we have still hope they may be able to change location, as a lot of work and preparation has already gone into this project!

In the mean time we are looking forward to the release of High Rise at their World Premiere on Sunday September 13th at the Elgin Theatre during the Toronto Film Festival. Also Bonobos
has started playing in the United States and you can listen to the voice of Luke Evans!

Following Luke’s busy schedule certainly feels like playing musical chairs or Tetris! Without a doubt it keeps his fans on their toes always wondering what is next! Just as he himself once said, it is a wonder films ever get made considering all the blocks and hurdles they have to face, and that goes double for independent projects!

Is The Crow Reboot Really Dead For Good? The Curse Of The Crow….

July 27, 2015July 27, 2015Altomedia 1 Comment

The movie franchise The Crow seems to have been cursed ever since the death of Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee who played Eric Draven in the original film, during its production. While many critics thought the reboot of The Crow would be an amazing project, most fans of the original film were adamantly against it. They felt it would take away from the memory of Brandon Lee and nobody else should try to replace him. When asked on Twitter about her opinion, his sister Shannon Lee answered she would not support a reboot.

Mark Wahlberg shown as The Crow

Many actors had been linked to the project over time. Bradley Cooper was in talks for the lead role of Eric Draven/The Crow who was according to IGN “the anti Spider-Man.” The essence of angsty ’90s comic book characters, The Crow took inspiration from creator James O’Barr’s life — after his fiancee was tragically killed in a hit-and-run by a drunk driver.”
But Bradley Cooper dropped out of the project. Another actor who had been cast as Eric Draven was Luke Evans, and after having been endorsed by the creator James O’Barr, who had seen him in costume, it seemed the project was finally moving ahead with production to begin in spring 2015.

Luke Evans linked to The Crow

Then a change of director and “scheduling conflicts” prompted Luke to distance himself from The Crow Reboot. The next actor attached to the role of Eric Draven was Jack Huston, but he too left, also due to “scheduling issues” as described in Variety on June 15th 2015 “The “Boardwalk Empire” star was slated to take on the role originated by Brandon Lee in the 1994 film of the same, but had to drop out due to scheduling issues. “The Crow” is currently in pre-production in Wales.

“Jack Huston is unfortunately unavailable to continue with us on ‘The Crow,’” said director Corin Hardy in a statement. “‘The Crow’ is an amazing project, and I am grateful that we have the time and patience to get it right. We look forward to unveiling our new lead and starting to film over the next several weeks.”

After that Nicholas Hoult, Jack O’Connell, Jai Courtney among others, were being eyed as possible replacements. Umberto Gonzalez with Heroic Hollywood was hinting on Twitter @elmayimbe about a mystery actor who was offered the role:

Umberto Gonzalez on Twitter

Many asked and speculated until, finally, yesterday he tweeted “RIP THE CROW reboot”.

Is that the end of The Crow Reboot?

Now we don’t know what Umberto Gonzalez knows, but I for one would be disappointed if this is really the end. It seems the project just had too many issues for too long, though I would have loved to see Luke Evans as Eric Draven. He has a talent for dark roles and he would have looked great in The Crow make up!

Artistic rendering of Luke Evans as The Crow

Charities On Social Media……And The Celebrities That Support Them

June 21, 2015June 21, 2015Altomedia 1 Comment

Charities have always relied on public support to reach their goals, and used direct mailing, magazines, advertising and their websites to reach their supporters and donors.
But more and more charities are looking at Social Media to reach a larger number of people. Not only does that give charities the opportunity to get in touch with more potential supporters, but also a chance to interact one-on-one with the public through tweets, posts or message boards.

An article in The Guardian described in 2013 how to look at different Social Media channels and choose the one that is right for you, and how to use it effectively.

“When planning your social media campaign, think carefully about what you want to achieve and who you want to engage with, then choose your channels based on who you want to reach. For example, LinkedIn is a professional tool, whereas Facebook tends to target a broader and younger audience. While it’s tempting to throw yourself in and sign up to as many free accounts as you can, be aware that you will need to interact if you want supporters to view your social media stream as a reliable way to communicate with you. Keep your social media moving – introduce news, provide usable content, stay active and regularly update your information. Nobody is going to interact with an account that’s been dormant for six months, so stay relevant and topical where possible.”

Charities always tried to connect with celebrities to support their cause through campaigns or as a spokes person. Now we see a lot of actors not only donate their time, but also use their Social Media accounts as a platform to get the message out to their followers.

Luke Evans on Cyber Abuse

Luke Evans is very active in supporting charities through Twitter, Face Book or on Instagram. We saw Luke tweet about Movember last November, he has been a Bvlgari ‘Save The Children’ Ambassador for a long time, our header image shows him at the RBC race for the kids at Battersea park, he tweets about “Save Mali the Elephant”, “Save the Arctic” and just recently ” Cash& Rocket”-Raising money for women and children in Africa.

Luke Evans for Cash & Rocket

His fans love him for supporting all these good causes and came up with the idea to collect money amongst themselves through a fundraiser in honor of his 36th birthday to War Child UK.

Sandra at Luke Evans Talk set up fundraiser with his Luketeers

Other actors who donate their time and throw the support of their fans and followers behind a good cause are Chris Pratt, Robert Downey Jr. or Richard Armitage to name just a few!
These are two of many tweets from June 18th for Cybersmile!

Richard Armitage for Cybersmile Foundation

Richard Armitage #SCD2015

If you love Social Media as much as we do you can see many examples of celebrities supporting a good cause. One more person we would like to mention is Ricky Gervais. He tirelessly supports animal rights on his Twitter account with 8.7 Million followers. Please check out #StopYuLin2015! It is a campaign against the torture and abduction of cats and dogs for the Yulin Dog Meat Festival. We all can make a difference by tweeting about it using hashtag #StopYuLin2015

Where Are They Now? – Or How To Get Over BOFA Withdrawal Symptoms?

June 4, 2015June 4, 2015Altomedia Leave a comment

I am sure we all felt sad walking out of the movie theatre after having watched The Hobbit Battle Of The Five Armies, knowing this was the last chapter. Many went to watch it multiple times, but it was hard having to say “good bye” to characters we came to care about so much.
“Will you follow me one last time?” was bitter sweet, not only for us, but also for the cast.

Now we have to deal with post BOFA withdrawal symptoms. Buying to own the movie certainly helped! We are happy though to notice that all cast members moved on to new projects, and we are taking this moment to research where we can see them again in the near future.

Andrew Lesnie with Lee Pace on set of BOFA

Let’s look at the director Peter Jackson first. The website IMDb
shows him as the producer of The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun to be completed in 2016.

Lee Pace looks very busy having completed the TV series The Mindy Project in 2015, as well as Halt and Catch Fire. Two movies Revolt and The Program are listed to be in post-production, and Reds and Grays is in pre-production.

Luke Evans Bard the Bowman

One of our favorites, Luke Evans, has so many projects even the most dedicated fans can’t keep up with his full schedule! Almost immediately after doing some promo work, he filmed Message from the King in Los Angeles, did a quick appearance for Fast and Furious 7, he is currently filming Beauty and the Beast, where he plays the villain Gaston. He played Richard Wilder in High Rise, which is listed to be in post-production and three other films Free Fire, Three Seconds and SAS: Red Notice are already in pre-production.

Additionally he made an appearance at HobbitCon 3 in Bonn and one just recently at the Shanghai Comic Convention, and our heads are spinning.

Another busy actor is Richard Armitage. He went on stage in Crucible last year, is on TV in Hannibal right now, and lists three movies in post production on IMDb Pilgrimage
, Urban & the Shed Crew and Sleepwalker
.

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield

Martin Freeman is working on Fun House and Captain America: Civil War. He continues to play Watson in Sherlock and also stars in Funny Cow, which is in pre-production.

Ian McKellen, Gandalf in The Hobbit movies, is Sherlock Holmes in Mr. Holmes. His TV movie The Dresser is post production while he is playing aongside Luke Evans in Beauty and the Beast and filming Animal Crackers as well. There is also the rumored Untitled Noel Coward Biopic and delayed The Curse of the Buxom Strumpet.

Orlando Bloom is filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales after having finished Unlocked and Digging for Fire.

Aidan Turner is lending his voice to Loving Vincent while his The Secret Scripture is finishing up in post-production. He has also become a television sensation with his series Poldark.

We are looking forward to a new Marvel movie Ant-Man premiering July 17th in the US with Evangeline Lily, and the preview looks very promising!

Evangeline Lily

Rounding out the field are Graham McTavish who lists Creed and The Finest Hours in post-production while getting ready for The Stolen, and Jed Brophy, our Nori, is preparing for his role in a Western movie Trail’s End, and has The Dead Room finishing up.

There are too many to list, Adam Brown and Stephen Frye amongst others, all are working on new films and projects. We are waiting to see the cast of The Hobbit in many new successful roles and are wishing everybody the best.

Who Should Play James Bond Next?

June 3, 2015Altomedia 2 Comments

The question of who should play James Bond next is a burning one for fans of the spy franchise and without even knowing which studio will get the distribution rights, it’s one that at this point has no definitive answer. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it and imagine our favorite actor following in Daniel Craig’s footsteps.

As with anybody who has been cast as the suave 007, there will be controversy. Craig himself was not a popular choice with fans or previous James Bond’s, he was “too blonde” and “too old” for the role, however, he has proven his critics wrong and made the last three installments the most successful at the box office. Skyfall received several award nominations.

Now let’s take a look at who on Earth could replace the current James Bond, Daniel Craig. Almost all of them have expressed interest in the role (for good reason).

HENRY CAVILL

Henry Cavill in The Man From U.N.C.L.E (Image via HenryCavill.org)

Of all the possible candidates, Henry Cavill was the one who has come closer to actually playing James Bond. In 2005 — when he was only 22 — he auditioned for the role, which he describes as “really painful” and almost landed the part.

However, studio executives thought he was too young at the time and the role went to Daniel Craig. Ten-years-later he is at the perfect age (32) and has a legion of fans who would love to see him play 007, but can this reconcile with his superhero image?

Henry is certainly fit enough and has the looks to play Bond. He even got a taste of playing a spy in his upcoming film The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. We wouldn’t complain if Henry Cavill was cast as James Bond.

RICHARD ARMITAGE

Richard Armitage in Spooks (BBC)

This is an interesting possibility. Tall, dark, brooding, and such a fantastic actor. Richard Armitage is also the correct age and his credentials — while not of the blockbuster nature — speak for themselves. A theater trained actor, he recently blew audiences away in the stage production of The Crucible.

His best known role on the silver screen is that of Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the dwarves in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy and oh, what a performance. Armitage is widely admired, not only by legions of adoring fans, but peers and directors as well for his work ethics and with reason. The deep, velvety voice doesn’t hurt either.

Richard Armitage, 43, is certainly at the right age and has the good looks and intensity to play James Bond. He has proven that he can carry a movie and is used to playing action roles. We will be able to admire his skills when he appears as the serial killer The Tooth Fairy/Red Dragon in NBC’s Hannibal. Oh and he also starred in Spooks as MI-5 agent Lucas North.

LUKE EVANS

Luke Evans in The Great Train Robbery (BBC)

Another interesting prospect, Luke Evans has expressed interest in the role of James Bond and is also used to playing very physical roles, which amount to the majority of his growing resume. Luke also came from theater, though in a different genre. Musical theater is his background and boy he can sing.

Singing is not required to play James Bond, but Luke Evans should be in any list of possible candidates. An actor who has proven he can undertake any role, and is ruggedly handsome (plus has that awesome Welsh accent) he specifically said that he would love the challenge of playing 007, while praising what Daniel Craig has done for the franchise.

“I think that’s a really good role. Daniel Craig has turned that role into something very special and as an actor of my age that would be a really great thing and I think the world needs a Welsh James Bond.”

In real life, Luke Evans is the epitome of fashion and can be seen at various events looking very dapper, which can easily be translated to the big screen.

TOM HIDDLESTON

Tom Hiddleston via Jaguar France (YouTube)

We mostly know him as the villain Loki, from Thor and Avengers, but Tom Hiddleston is so much more than a baddie. Though many think he would be an excellent Bond villain, he also has the looks and talent to play the man himself.

He is British, which in our opinion is the basic requirement and he can act. Like the previous candidates, he comes from theater and has appeared in anything from superhero movies to Shakespearean characters with ease. Even though he’s a bit young, like Cavill, by the time the next James Bond movie is ready to go under production he would be ripe for the role.

JASON STATHAM

Jason Statham in Killer Elite (Open Road Films)

This action star cannot be discounted when talking about the next James Bond and Jason Statham recently expressed his interest in playing 007 when Daniel Craig retires. He “enthusiastically” told the Guardian that if he was ever offered the gig he would be up for it.

“Could I do it? Abso-f**king-lutely,” he said. “Would I do it? Abso-f**king-lutely.”

Statham also thinks that Daniel Craig has brought new energy to the role, but said that if he was cast as James Bond he would take on the Ian Fleming character in a “different” way.

“Yeah, I’d make a decent Bond,” Statham said. “But it’d be very, very different if I did it.”

MATTHEW MACFADYEN

Matthew Macfadyen in Spooks (BBC)

Mr. Darcy as James Bond? Not a bad possibility and according to the handsome Brit, he was approached by studio executives about playing 007.

“”Yes, they might have. I don’t know about Bond. It’s a weird one, isn’t it? It’s a bit camp. It would change your life.”

There are few that do brooding better than Matthew Macfadyen and he certainly has what it takes, although he’s not known for undertaking particularly physical roles. However, he has the talent and given the motivation Macfadyen could play the most famous spy of all time. Earlier in his career he starred as Tom Quinn — the original MI-5 agent — in the very popular spy series, Spooks, where he incidentally met his wife, Keeley Hawes.

Unfortunately, for fans, so far it doesn’t seem like Matthew Macfadyen is interested in having his life turned upside down by becoming James Bond, but never say never. Macfadyen is the personification of tall, dark, and broody on the big screen if not so in real life and we will have to wait and see if he can be convinced.

CHRISTIAN BALE

Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight (Warner Bros.)

Another Welsh would could very well take on the iconic role of James Bond, Christian Bale is a proven actor, and while not the handsome type, as many of those already listed, he has more than enough credentials to follow in Daniel Craig’s footsteps.

Bale is best known for playing Batman in Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, but has many, many films under his belt in an impressive filmography. What do you think of Christian Bale as James Bond?

GERARD BUTLER

Gerard Butler in Olympus Has Fallen (Millennium Films)

He’s getting there in age and at 45 would be a bit old by the time Daniel Craig is done with James Bond, but Gerry Butler would do a nice 007. He has that perpetual smirk, which gives the impression he’s a bad boy and the ladies love him.

The handsome Scot got in a bit of hot water when he joked about being cast as 007. However, franchise producer Barbara Broccoli quickly dismissed the rumors and insisted that Pierce Brosnan (James Bond at the time) was the man for the foreseeable future.

IDRIS ELBA

Idris Elba in Luther (BBC)

The Internet was in an uproar when the infamous Sony hack revealed emails suggesting Idris Elba was being eyed to play James Bond. For his fans, it was music to their ears.

If you’ve ever seen Elba in action, you know he can act and in a variety of roles. He does brooding very well as he proved in Luther and was all over the place in the action film Pacific Rim. So why not? Not how many would picture James Bond, but it’s all about the acting chops, right?

Do you have a favorite actor in mind to play James Bond after Daniel Craig departs? Let us know in the comments. What do you think of our list?

[Image via EON Productions]