James Bond Villain Actors We Want to See Next

There are very few roles in film that invite as much public attention, scrutiny, and opinion as the role of James Bond. Daniel Craig is likely (and deservedly) sipping on a shaken not stirred martini on a beach somewhere in the Mediterranean, thoroughly enjoying his retirement, having hung up his tux and Walther PPK after the exertions of No Time to Die.

With the 007 role vacant, the job specification is the broadest it’s ever been. Since Craig’s final bow, the rumor mill as to who his successor will be is very much in full spin. While attentions remain glued to an announcement on the identity of the eighth Bond actor (give or take Barry Nelson's performance in an episode of the TV show Climax!), who will play the spy's future enemies also remains an unknown quantity. Following 007 producers revealing that Bond is by no means dead, and will return to our screens again, it got us thinking about what actors we want to see in the Bond villain mold.

From Javier Bardem, Mads Mikkelsen, and Donald Pleasence, to Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, and Christopher Walken, there have been some exceptional actors who have incited utter villainous treachery against Bond. Since the 1960s, we’ve become accustomed to seeing some masterful malefactor performances, which in some cases (like Javier Bardem in Skyfall), out-perform Bond himself.

With speculation beginning to regain momentum following recent announcements, here are some actors that could make brilliant Bond villains...

Gal Gadot

Usually, due to the inherently misogynistic ways of 007, and the era in which the books were penned, female antagonists were often employed as a slight inconvenience, rather than a major issue, before invariably, Bond would lure them into the bedroom. The spy encountered his first female nemesis in 1963’s From Russia with Love, with Rosa Klebb taking on the job as his familiar foe. We haven’t witnessed a woman line up opposite Bond since Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough, so it being long overdue is an understatement.

Gal Gadot has become accustomed to portraying the force for good, the morality referee in a world of immoral games. From Wonder Woman to Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Gadot is suited to the voice of logic, fairness, and principle. Yet, in Netflix’s Red Notice she assumes the position of a “baddy,” a cunning, conniving, and devious thief with a penchant for violence — all traits that make for an incredibly convincing Bond villain.

Vincent Cassel

Rising to acclaim in Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 neo-noir crime drama, La Haine, before making his mainstream debut in the great Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Twelve. Vincent Cassel’s rough-around-the-edges, unrefined on-screen persona is a real Bond villain trait. With his charming Parisian accent and roguish looks he certainly possesses that worldly demeanor that so many of the great Bond villains have had. There is this particular air of unpredictability he holds as Vinz in La Haine, and he could certainly channel the same energy into a Bond adversary.

Michael Shannon

Michael Shannon has a history of playing the force for evil as General Zod in Man of Steel and appears as Colonel Richard Strickland in Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water, one of the most memorable antagonists of recent years. As Strickland, he was the embodiment of a nasty, narcissistic individual, with a frightening, imposing presence. Shannon’s great performance in The Shape of Water is undeniably a viable audition for a Jaws-like Henchman (circa (The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) in a future James Bond movie.

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe has that villainous, crazed look in his eye. That look that saw him excel as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man and in the considerably less credible Speed 2: Cruise Control as the grossly unhinged John Geiger. The cackling laugh, the slimy, wily exterior, and the ability to convincingly pull off the menacing image. His Bond villain credentials are there for all to see.

John Boyega

The Star Wars actor has recently declared that he doesn’t expect James Bond to ever be portrayed by a black person or person of color following the backlash that he and the Star Wars franchise received for casting him as Finn. However, while John Boyega has a stark lack of “baddy” experience, an actor with his level of dexterity will undoubtedly be able to turn his hand to playing a character that wreaks havoc on an international scale and strikes fear into Bond, and MI5. His recent turn in the excellent film Breaking shows that he can play a criminal with utter complexity and depths of emotion.

Tilda Swinton

The Academy Award-winning actor has featured in over 60 films in her decorated career and has developed a formidable repertoire for wickedness on-screen. From the ice-cold tyranny of her display as the White Witch in Narnia, the calculated, power-hungry Lucy Mirando, driven by unadulterated greed and self-interest in Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja, to her role in Joon-Ho’s Snowpiercer as the sinister and ruthless Minister Mason, and her ultimately Oscar-winning role in Michael Clayton, this is someone who can transform into the most complicated cruelties.

In each position, she has managed to reinvent her ungodliness in each character, so combining all the deranged, iniquitous, and malevolent qualities and funneling them into one big Bond super-villain has the potential to be unforgettable and to pose the British spy a genuine threat.