Daniel Craig As James Bond
Any time you have an iconic character being recast, the choice is probably going to be somewhat controversial. For all the comic book characters on this list though, fans have had multiple castings beforehand as well as the various comic iterations of the characters to draw comparisons to. But I don’t know that there’s any other character that has appeared on film as many times and is as beloved as James Bond is. So, naturally, Bond fans are going to have very strong opinions about who is and isn’t qualified to play 007.
And for most fans of the super secret agent, Daniel Craig fell into the “isn’t” category. Not only is he blonde, but he doesn’t even have chest hair! How in the world could a man save the free world by day and seduce all the finest women in the land by night if he doesn’t have brown curls popping out the top of his shirt?
Fans were so opposed to Craig that websites began to pop up with the goal of boycotting Casino Royale. One fairly big outlet even described Craig as an “actor who can at best be described as average, rough if not downright ugly.” Downright ugly? Really? Are they looking at the same man as the one in the picture above?
I’m a lifelong Bond fan. Almost all of my early user names and email addresses featured 007 somewhere in them (and some of my current ones do as well). And I can safely say, without a doubt, that Casino Royale is my favorite Bond movie and Craig is my favorite Bond.
He’s brought new life to the role and made Bond real, which is something the franchise needed. I’m not opposed to any of the prior Bonds. I’m a fan of Connery and I can appreciate every actor who’s played 007 in the past, but it’s not even a question that Craig is my favorite. Not only that, but I think a valid argument can be made for him being the best of the bunch. I won’t make that argument here, but there’s no denying that he’s done a quality job in the role and has no doubt surprised many people.
