The James Bond film series is one of the longest-running of all time. Since 1962, the iconic British secret agent has been entertaining us with stories of high octane action, white knuckle car chases, and high tech gadgets. However, due to the fact that some of these movies came out decades ago, several films in the series have become very dated, in terms of its subject matter, treatment of women, and special effects. As the Bond series is a revolving door of entertainment, it is only a matter of time before some of the more classic villains begin to return to our screens, as the recent addition of Christoph Waltz’ Ernst Stavro Blofeld shows.
We’re here to recast 10 iconic James Bond villains for modern audiences.
Jaws: Rory McCann
Jaws was always going to be a difficult role to recast, not only because of how iconic Richard Kiel’s portrayal was but also because of the sheer size of the character. Consequently, any actor who is cast in this role will require some movie magic to make him appear closer to Kiel’s height.
While it may be difficult for an actor to replace Richard Kiel as Jaws, Game of Thrones’ Rory McCann would be more than capable of shining as the toothy assassin.
Oddjob: Kang-ho Song
Much like Jaws, Oddjob is a character who will prove very difficult to recast, not only due to the iconic nature of Goldfinger but also the performance of Harold Sakata. While Sakata had no lines in the movie, he still managed to portray the character of Oddjob as menacing and intimidating.
The best actor to replace Oddjob would be Parasite’s Kang-ho Song. His work in Parasite and Snowpiercer shows that he is a fantastic actor who would be more than capable of recapturing Oddjob’s intimidating and menacing demeanor.
Stromberg: Stellan Skarsgård
Karl Stromberg is one of the most memorable and maniacal villains of the Roger Moore era. Appearing in The Spy Who Loved Me, Karl Stromberg planned to trigger a mass extinction of humanity and move civilization underwater. In order to trigger the annihilation, Stromberg plans to trick the UK and the Soviet Union into going to war.
One actor who would excel in the role of Stromberg is Stellan Skarsgård. The Swedish actor is immensely talented and is no stranger to starring in Hollywood blockbusters. Skarsgård would recapture the menacing Bond villain and potentially bring a new dimension to the character.
Dr. No: Henry Golding
Dr. Julius No was the first Bond villain, helping to kickstart the franchise into the box office gold that it is today. Dr. No was a nuclear scientist working for SPECTRE who was attempting to sabotage the launch of a US space rocket but was ultimately defeated by James Bond.
While there are rumors that Rami Malek may be playing Dr. No in No Time To Die, this is far from confirmed. While Henry Golding has mainly played characters in romantic comedies (except for The Gentlemen), the chance to play Dr. No would allow him to really flex his acting muscles on screen.
Alec Trevelyan: Ewan McGregor
Alec Trevelyan is one of the most underrated Bond villains. Trevelyan was an MI6 agent, but after a mission with James Bond went wrong, he was badly scarred and left with a feeling of betrayal against MI6, James Bond, and the United Kingdom as a whole. Trevelyan then started going by moniker Janus, hijacked the Goldeneye satellite and attempted to send the UK back to the dark ages by destroying their technology and stealing the money from the Bank of England.
While Sean Bean was fantastic in the role, Ewan McGregor would also be incredible as the former MI6 agent. As shown in Birds of Prey, Ewan McGregor can play the villain role incredibly well.
Auric Goldfinger: Conleth Hill
Auric Goldfinger is one of the most iconic Bond villains of all time. In Goldfinger, he plans on raiding Fort Knox so that he can plant an atomic bomb, destroy the gold, and inflate the price of his own gold, making him the richest man in the world as a result.
While it would be very difficult for any actor to take over this role due to the iconic status of the original portrayal, Game of Thrones’ Conleth Hill would certainly excel in the role.
Francisco Scaramanga: Michael Fassbender
The late, great Christopher Lee excelled in the role of Scaramanga, perfectly capturing the villain’s dark charm and intimidating nature. As a master assassin and the owner of the infamous golden gun, Scaramanga is a dark twin of Bond himself and it will be important to stress this in any recast of the character.
While it would be almost impossible to trump Christopher Lee’s fantastic portrayal, Michael Fassbender would certainly do a great job in the role of Francisco Scaramanga. He’d be perfectly capable of capturing the intimidating, ’evil Bond’ nature of the character.
Red Grant: Alexander Skarsgård
In a similar manner to Scaramanga, Red Grant is intended to be a dark mirror of James Bond. Grant is a SPECTRE agent that is sent to kill James Bond in From Russia With Love. It is also Red Grant that started a strange trend in Bond movies in which the villain of the piece would have some kind of Aryan henchman.
Red Grant is supposed to be physical perfection, meaning that any actor would have to look like a Greek God in order to fit the part and Alexander Skarsgård is certainly capable of fulfilling this.
Rosa Klebb: Imelda Staunton
Another villain who debuted in From Russia With Love, Rosa Klebb was the main baddie in the film and a high ranking member of the villainous SPECTRE organization. The character is famous for being tough, intimidating, and possessing a hidden knife in her shoe.
Imelda Staunton isn’t only an incredible actress who stands out in every film she’s starred in, but she also has experience in playing one of the most hated and memorable villains of all time, Dolores Umbridge.
Baron Samedi: LaKeith Stanfield
Baron Samedi is one of the most memorable Bond villains of all time. Samedi featured in Live and Let Die and traversed the line between the supernatural and the natural, leaving the audience questioning whether or not he actually possessed supernatural abilities.
An actor who would be more than capable of portraying the creepy and supernatural side of Baron Samedi is LaKeith Stanfield, an incredibly talented and hardworking actor who has starred in both Get Out and Knives Out recently.
