29 replies to this topic

[Max Largo]

I've been a lurker for a long time and decided to finally register. I know that many people will dismiss this thread from the get-go just because it involves a B-movie actor playing Bond. But I am serious. Please bare with me for just a moment.


When I think of Daniel Craig, I think of him as "the people's Bond." After a string of pansy models taking on the role, we have finally got a man's man, and someone with a common touch. He is able to reach out to the average joe in ways that Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan never could. Craig inspires the hope in all of us that, if we were to hit the gym and develop a bit of Craig's charm and swagger, we could BE Bond. This type of underdog realism is what was missing for so long from the franchise.


I dread the day Craig retires from the role and the series regresses to what it was before Craig saved it. And with that in mind, I think Simon Pegg would be PERFECT as Craig's successor.

Think about it. Simon Pegg gives us everything we want in Bond today.

He is 5'9" or 5'10", blonde, balding a little (following in tradition of not only the best Bond, but also the second best Bond, Sean Connery). He is far from a pretty boy. Pegg's physical similarities with Craig go even further. Like Craig, he has a small mouth and small chin, a rounded head, and ears that stick out. When he's not joking, Pegg can also look quite "cruel". Clearly, Pegg has got what it takes in the looks department to continue in the tradition of Craig. Perhaps he needs to add some muscle, but that is certainly doable.

I understand that looks are sometimes not enough, and one may wonder what roles Pegg has played that qualify him to be Bond. I say, look no further than Hot Fuzz. Pegg was in great shape and came off as a very credible action star. He was great in the chase and fight scenes, and great at delivering one liners. In the humor department, Pegg may even add a dimension we haven't seen from Craig! Furthermore, Pegg's portrayal of a serious, determined police officer fully focused on his job proves that he'd be great playing a cold, calculating, focused secret agent. His approach in taking back Sandford showed a "blunt instrument" in full effect. And we won't have to worry about Pegg coming off as too suave. To top it all off, Pegg's popularity in Britain helps a lot. He won't be seen as an American.


So what do you all think? I welcome any constructive feedback from people willing to overlook the seeming absurdity of this suggestion.

[dinovelvet]

Nice try.

[Max Largo]

Nice try.

What do you mean?


At least let me know why Simon wouldn't work out...

[Captain Tightpants]

Nice try.

What do you mean?


At least let me know why Simon wouldn't work out...

Because he has the look of a man who doesn't work out?

[Max Largo]

Nice try.

What do you mean?


At least let me know why Simon wouldn't work out...

Because he has the look of a man who doesn't work out?

Actually, I thought he was perfect in the looks category (as I discussed in the original post).


Perhaps you don't mean to be literal when you say "look of a man"? Do you mean that just by looking at him, he seems like he wouldn't work out? (As opposed to saying he lacks the looks to be James Bond)

[honeyjes]

I think your missing one ingrediant, DC you think looks like an ordinary Joe, but the rub is he isn't, on screen he's mesmerizing, he has the IT factor, which you can't define or bottle. I don't think Simon has IT.

Edited by honeyjes, 06 July 2008 - 08:30 AM.

[Jim]

Very funny chap, but a bit short, ferrety and bald.

[ImTheMoneypenny]

While I can understand what you're trying to say, I just can't picture Pegg as Bond. Perhaps I haven't seen enough of him. But to me Pegg=comedy and we don't want to go down that road again do we?. Honeyjes is right about Craig's magnetism. He owns the screen the minute he appears. He may look everyman but looks are deceiving. And I'm not sure about Pegg's voice being commanding enough as well. Craig can boom his voice when necessary and again this is going by not seeing Pegg very much, I don't think Pegg's voice could do that. I could ask my boyfriend his opinion on the subject, he's a big fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz but I think he'd agree with me on this.

I cannot begin to think up a replacement for Craig, so at least you're giving it a go. Other people have come up with threads on the subject too.

[Safari Suit]

Hey, at least its an original suggestion.

[ImTheMoneypenny]

Hey, at least its an original suggestion.

agreed. It is very outside the box. We have to give Max Largo credit for that!

[jaguar007]

Peg does not have the macho verve that Craig has. Nor the voice or the physicalitity.

[Max Largo]

Very funny chap, but a bit short, ferrety and bald.

Didn't a lot of people think Daniel Craig was "a bit short, ferrety and bald"?


We saw how wrong they were.

[Jim]

Very funny chap, but a bit short, ferrety and bald.

Didn't a lot of people think Daniel Craig was "a bit short, ferrety and bald"?


We saw how wrong they were.

I remember blond and short. Ferrety and bald I can't recall.

I agree that many of the preconceptions about James Bond have been binned by the current incumbent but I still can't see it. I'm not sure he's of the same dramatic actor stock as the others have been.

[Max Largo]

Peg does not have the macho verve that Craig has. Nor the voice or the physicalitity.

Did people think that Craig was so macho before they saw CR? I know it's hard thinking of Simon as macho given all the comedies he has appeared in. But I think he could pull it off.

Simon was in great shape in Hot Fuzz, and if he added some muscle (which is possible), he could easily be physical enough.

I actually think Pegg's voice is very similar to Craig's, except it is not quite as deep. Brosnan and Lazenby, as bad as they were in my opinion, were able to get by as Bond with much less commanding voices.

While I can understand what you're trying to say, I just can't picture Pegg as Bond. Perhaps I haven't seen enough of him. But to me Pegg=comedy and we don't want to go down that road again do we?. Honeyjes is right about Craig's magnetism. He owns the screen the minute he appears. He may look everyman but looks are deceiving. And I'm not sure about Pegg's voice being commanding enough as well. Craig can boom his voice when necessary and again this is going by not seeing Pegg very much, I don't think Pegg's voice could do that. I could ask my boyfriend his opinion on the subject, he's a big fan of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz but I think he'd agree with me on this.

I cannot begin to think up a replacement for Craig, so at least you're giving it a go. Other people have come up with threads on the subject too.

Thanks for the thoughts. I addressed the voice question above. I suppose magnetism is tough to quanitify and very subjective, but I see what you mean. I'm interested to hear what your boyfriend thinks.

Edited by Max Largo, 06 July 2008 - 08:54 PM.

[Jim]

Well, good luck with this project. I'm not sure you'll meet with much agreement but it will be fun watching you try.

[Max Largo]

Very funny chap, but a bit short, ferrety and bald.

Didn't a lot of people think Daniel Craig was "a bit short, ferrety and bald"?


We saw how wrong they were.

I remember blond and short. Ferrety and bald I can't recall.

I agree that many of the preconceptions about James Bond have been binned by the current incumbent but I still can't see it. I'm not sure he's of the same dramatic actor stock as the others have been.

I've seen quite a few people complain Craig was balding in CR. Like I said before, Connery was also balding. If it is that big a deal, a toupe is always a possibility.


What did you think of the action scenes in Hot Fuzz?

[Jim]

Very funny chap, but a bit short, ferrety and bald.

Didn't a lot of people think Daniel Craig was "a bit short, ferrety and bald"?


We saw how wrong they were.

I remember blond and short. Ferrety and bald I can't recall.

I agree that many of the preconceptions about James Bond have been binned by the current incumbent but I still can't see it. I'm not sure he's of the same dramatic actor stock as the others have been.

I've seen quite a few people complain Craig was balding in CR. Like I said before, Connery was also balding. If it is that big a deal, a toupe is always a possibility.


What did you think of the action scenes in Hot Fuzz?

Pastiche, and cleverly directed pastiche. I can see Edgar Wright doing a Bond film before Simon Pegg becomes Bond, however.

[Santa]

OMG, are you him? Are you Simon Pegg? Or are you his mother, maybe? His agent?

[Blonde Bond]

Did people think that Craig was so macho before they saw CR?

In Tomb Raider and Layer Cake he was pretty macho in my eyes, and I saw those movies before CR. Tomb Raider many years before it.

And hey, maybe Wright and Pegg could make sort of movie that would play as a homage to James Bond and other movie spies alike.

I just don't see it in him. Cant see him as serious Jimbo Bond.

[Joey Bond]

I actually think he'd do a good job if and only if they do the Lazenby thing and try to cast a Craig lookalike rather than take Bond in a different direction (the latter more likely). There were moments in Hot Fuzz when I actually thought I was watching Craig.

If not Bond, perhaps a Q-like character, like Benji Dunn in MI3?

[Skudor]

Simon Pegg would be a decent Bond in the mold of Woody Allen and Peter Sellers - if they decided to remake Casino Royale 1967.

It's a good point that Craig wasn't exactly obvious Bond material prior to his announcement (although see Layer Cake for something that's at least has a spark of a future Bond).

Pegg on the other hand should stick to comedy. Short and ferrety sums it up nicely.

[spynovelfan]

He is 5'9" or 5'10", blonde, balding a little (following in tradition of not only the best Bond, but also the second best Bond, Sean Connery). He is far from a pretty boy. Pegg's physical similarities with Craig go even further. Like Craig, he has a small mouth and small chin, a rounded head, and ears that stick out. When he's not joking, Pegg can also look quite "cruel". Clearly, Pegg has got what it takes in the looks department to continue in the tradition of Craig.

I suspect you're being disingenuous when you say you're serious about this suggestion, but instead are so enraged that someone who doesn't look like the traditional Bond has been so successful that you have channelled your petty frustration into this extraordinarily futile waste of time. If so, I hope you grow up soon. If not, apologies.

[HH007]

Sorry, but anyone familiar with the series "Spaced" will find it absolutely impossible to take Pegg seriously as Bond.

[Skudor]

He is 5'9" or 5'10", blonde, balding a little (following in tradition of not only the best Bond, but also the second best Bond, Sean Connery). He is far from a pretty boy. Pegg's physical similarities with Craig go even further. Like Craig, he has a small mouth and small chin, a rounded head, and ears that stick out. When he's not joking, Pegg can also look quite "cruel". Clearly, Pegg has got what it takes in the looks department to continue in the tradition of Craig.

I suspect you're being disingenuous when you say you're serious about this suggestion, but instead are so enraged that someone who doesn't look like the traditional Bond has been so successful that you have channelled your petty frustration into this extraordinarily futile waste of time. If so, I hope you grow up soon. If not, apologies.

You suspicious person. How could you have doubts about the intentions of this thread.

Surely it couldn't be a sly way to bash Craig? Surely not?

[Mister Asterix]

I suspect you're being disingenuous when you say you're serious about this suggestion, but instead are so enraged that someone who doesn't look like the traditional Bond has been so successful that you have channelled your petty frustration into this extraordinarily futile waste of time. If so, I hope you grow up soon. If not, apologies.

That’s all that needed saying.

[Daddy Bond]

Either way it is difficult to take this suggestion seriously.

A. If this is an indirect way to criticize Craig as Bond, well, Craig has proven himself as one of the best Bonds ever.

B. If this is a serious suggestion, I have to completely disagree. This guy would never work as Bond. Not ever. Won't happen. He would look rediculous as Bond.

[HH007]

Either way it is difficult to take this suggestion seriously.

A. If this is an indirect way to criticize Craig as Bond, well, Craig has proven himself as one of the best Bonds ever.

B. If this is a serious suggestion, I have to completely disagree. This guy would never work as Bond. Not ever. Won't happen. He would look rediculous as Bond.

Probably one of the most ridiculous suggestions I ever heard, come to think of it.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Siomon Pegg!?

Phuutt!

Eddie Izzard IS James Bond!

[Daddy Bond]

Siomon Pegg!?

Phuutt!

Eddie Izzard IS James Bond!

How about..

Eric Estrada IS James Bond!

[vednam]

This is a splendid idea!

Now we've just got to figure out where to cast Nick Frost. Do you think he'd make a good Felix Leiter?












Thankfully, it looks like I'm not the only one who notices that this thread is clearly mocking DC, as well as the people who are raving about DC's "common man" appeal.

I actually think he'd do a good job if and only if they do the Lazenby thing and try to cast a Craig lookalike rather than take Bond in a different direction (the latter more likely). There were moments in Hot Fuzz when I actually thought I was watching Craig.

If not Bond, perhaps a Q-like character, like Benji Dunn in MI3?

Funny, but I also got the same feeling while watching Hot Fuzz.

Edited by vednam, 08 July 2008 - 10:59 PM.