I think I know who the next James Bond actor will be.
I might be wrong, yet it’s highly likely that I could be right. (And I’m a little nervous putting it out there because I don’t want to jinx it, but here goes.)
The strange thing is, I don’t even like James Bond. Nothing about James Bond has ever appealed to me. Ever. I think I might have seen one or two James Bond movies in my life years ago, and that’s not because I chose the movie.
I can’t tell you anything about the plot. Women, fast cars and James Bond. That’s about all I remember. And I can’t even tell you which Bond actor it was.
Oh, and I do remember a man with metal teeth–but that might have been a poster I saw somewhere, not an actual movie I’ve seen. Like the iconic woman coming out of the water in a bikini, I think the man with the metal teeth might be just as iconic.
My Prediction For The Next James Bond Is —– Prince Albert!
Yes, Prince Albert could be the next James Bond. I’m talking about Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband in the ITV Victoria series.
Tom Hughes. That’s his name. But just like I’ll always see Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, I’ll probably always see Tom Hughes as Prince Albert in the ITV Victoria series, even if he were to become the next James Bond actor.
. . .
I can still see Prince Albert entering his first scene alongside his brother, Prince Ernest. The camera is panned in on their high black boots as they walk side by side, in sync down the steps and through the hallway of Buckingham Palace.
The young Queen Victoria, unmarried and unaware that Albert’s in the Palace, is passionately playing the piano in a room filled with everyone in her inner circle. Albert enters the room just in time to walk over and turn the music page for her, with all eyes watching, because they know why he’s there.
Victoria pauses her playing and looks up at Albert.
He greets her with a simple, “Victoria.”
And the chemistry begins.
. . .
I have a thing for British period dramas. One thing I like to do is look up the actors to see what they look like without all the costumes and done-up hairdos.
And one thing I can tell you…Tom Hughes playing Prince Albert is handsome, but Tom Hughes as Tom Hughes is gor-ge-ous. At least in the online photos I’ve seen. Not as gorgeous as my husband of course. But seriously…he is super good looking.
But it’s not just his good looks….he’s an impressive actor. As Prince Albert, his learned German accent is top notch (not that I’m German, but it sounds good to me, oh and I was born in Germany so maybe that counts for something) as is his ability to play the reserved yet passionate Prince married to a strong, complex Queen.
He’s not only great at acting in a role, but when he’s interviewed, he’s excellent at verbally explaining his characters from an emotional and psychological perspective, as though he’s taken time to psychoanalyze the character. If he wasn’t an actor he’d probably make a great psychologist.
I don’t watch a lot of movies or tv, and when I find something I especially like, I want to see it all the way through and may even watch it again, if it’s that good. The thing with the ITV Victoria series is it ended on a huge cliffhanger with no fourth season. (I wrote about that here: Why Did The Victoria TV Series End?)
I ended up watching a few more Tom Hughes movies–The Lady Vanishes, Dare to Be Wild, Red Joan and Dancing on the Edge. Maybe this would give me closure since the Victoria series left me hanging. And to be honest, I wanted to see more of Tom Hughes. Was he as good in other roles as he was as Prince Albert?
There’s this one show , a BBC series, called The Game, that Tom is in. I didn’t want to watch initially because a spy series set in the 1970s…eh, I wasn’t sure I could get into it.
Ok, I’ll be honest. When I saw the trailer for the BBC film, The Game, Tom Hughes looks absolutely stunning, and I wasn’t sure he’d be believable as a spy. He looks way too perfect, like he should be walking down a catwalk instead of playing a British spy.
I asked myself, do I want to watch that show because I really want to watch it or am I just watching it because of Tom Hughes’ gorgeous looks? I decided to skip it.
He’s so beautiful in that series, I felt like I’d be cheating on my husband if I watched it. Even if I am old enough to be his mom, he lives on the other side of the world, and I’ve no idea who the guy really is. Ha.
But I eventually watched that series, and this is where the whole James Bond thing comes in.
The Tom Hughes – James Bond Connection
A few months ago, I was watching Tom Hughes being interviewed about his movie Red Joan and the ITV Victoria Series and was taken aback when the interviewer switched direction and asked him this:
“As with every British man of a certain age, does everyone mention the word Bond to you?”
This Morning
Wait, Bond as in James Bond? The superficial action hero-like character, James Bond? The James Bond I can’t stand?
I couldn’t believe the interviewer was asking Tom Hughes about James Bond. Prince Albert as James Bond?
Maybe it wasn’t as odd a question as I thought. James Bond is British. Tom’s British. Daniel Craig can’t be James Bond forever. Maybe they ask every British male actor this question.
But Prince Albert, I mean, Tom Hughes as James Bond? My brain was having a hard time trying to connect the two. I needed to know more. And because I’m literally a research rabbit trail addict, I knew I’d find more.
I came across this headline:
Next James Bond? Victoria star Tom Hughes tipped to replace Daniel Craig.
“Tom Hughes caught the eye of Barbara Broccoli in the BBC film The Game, and was impressed, and has been looking at other films he’s done to see if he might be a fit for the future Bond.”
Mirror
First of all, a woman is in charge of the James Bond enterprise?! I had no idea. Actually, it’s Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother, Michael G. Wilson, but she seems to be the person most in charge of choosing the Bond actor.
How incredibly fascinating, though, that a female is behind the machismo character James Bond. It’s weird and fascinating at the same time because from what I remember about James Bond, he’s not too great in his treatment of women. But since I’ve only seen one maybe two Bond movies, maybe that’s changed.
I did a little research on Barbara Broccoli, then I watched the BBC series, The Game. If Barbara Broccoli liked it maybe it’s worth watching. And more importantly, maybe it would give me a clue to how Tom Hughes just might be the next James Bond actor.
Discovering a little more about Barbara Broccoli’s future plans for James Bond and watching BBCs, The Game, I was now seeing how Tom Hughes might fit into the scheme of things and how he could be a possibility as the next James Bond actor.
By the way, BBCs, The Game–it’s worth watching, and I didn’t feel like I was cheating on my husband…ha!
Barbara Broccoli Says James Bond is Getting a Makeover
For months I’ve been seeing online articles in my newsfeed about who the next James Bond could be. I haven’t read any of them because I’ve had no interest, and I don’t know why they’re showing up in my feed.
The headlines usually mention an actor being added to the growing list of James Bond possibilities. Interestingly, Prince Albert, I mean Tom Hughes isn’t on that list. All the more reason to speculate that he is being considered as the next Bond. (I’ll explain that another time.)
A few months ago, Barbara Broccoli said that no one is being considered for the role of Bond just yet because they’re giving James Bond a makeover and that it’ll be at least two years before they start filming another Bond film.
We’re reinventing who he is and that takes time.
Barbara Broccoli
Now I’m drawn in. I want to know how this is going to turn out. Prince Albert as the possible new James Bond…A woman is in charge of the Bond franchise…James Bond is being reinvented…
Some people like figuring out jigsaw and crossword puzzles. I like figuring out people, and this is like a puzzle I’m figuring out.
Even though Barbara Broccoli says no one is being considered for the role just yet, I do believe she knows who she wants as the next James Bond. Obviously, this is a brilliant woman, and she wouldn’t wait until the last minute to decide on a future James Bond.
Surely, Barbara has been thinking about the next James Bond actor for a long time, and she probably already knows who the next Bond is…if he accepts. And if he doesn’t accept, she definitely has a second and even third person in mind.
I’m Watching All 25 James Bond Movies!
This is nuts but, I’ve gone from having zero interest in James Bond to recently watching a documentary on Bond and Ian Fleming, author of the original Bond novels. And now, I’m going to watch all twenty-five official James Bond movies, produced by EON Productions.
I know that’s a lot especially for someone who doesn’t like James Bond. Since Barbara Broccoli said Bond will be reinvented, I’m curious. I now want to see the evolution of James Bond, from the beginning to the most recent. I want to see how each actor impacted the character.
It’s not that I’m interested in James Bond the spy (I’m not exactly sure of his title). Watching all the Bond movies might give me a clue to where they’re taking the reinvented Bond, and it might give me a clue to how Tom Hughes could impact the Bond role. I actually have some thoughts on how he could perhaps enhance the role. I’m no Barbara Broccoli, but I can pretend.
I’ll be documenting my journey through all 25 movies. They won’t be movie reviews, though; just some notes on what stood out for me about James Bond in each movie, in particular, his character and evolvement….and I’ll write about whatever else comes up in my mind about James Bond, Tom Hughes and Barbara Broccoli.
I might just start reading some of those James Bond articles that have been coming across my news feed.
I’m calling this whole thing the Lisa Malone Bond Journey.