Former James Bond casting director says 007 is “About to Change Dramatically”
Debbie McWilliams reflects on casting Daniel Craig and reveals the key quality the next Bond must have
Finding the next James Bond has become one of the most challenging tasks facing the film industry today. Following Daniel Craig’s departure, Amazon MGM Studios’ acquisition of the rights, and the Broccoli family’s exit from production, the situation has been up in the air, and, in the words of Debbie McWilliams—who was responsible for casting the actors in the James Bond films over the past 40 years—the situation “is about to change dramatically.”
This isn’t the first time McWilliams has shared his thoughts on the matter, and during a talk at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (via The Hollywood Reporter), she spoke a bit about what the process was like during his time with the Broccolis. Regarding the current contenders, she makes it clear that “I neither know, nor do I have an opinion.”
The Visual Power of a Menacing Presence
However, she mentioned the most important quality the next actor must have—though it’s not strictly necessary if the role is well-balanced. “Part of his job description is a license to kill. So you’ve got to think that he could pick up a gun and shoot you,” she said. “He’s got to have a certain menacing quality about him.” Pierce Brosnan, she noted, didn’t quite have that — “but he embodied a different side of the character. He was very handsome and suave, and all that.” Craig, by contrast, “changed that somewhat in that he was much tougher.”
In her talk, McWilliams also mentioned two of the most important casting decisions of his career. First was casting Judi Dench as M. “Traditionally, the role had been played by a man,” McWilliams recalled, “and I said in a meeting, ‘You do know that the head of MI5 is now a woman—Stella Rimington.’ And so Barbara said, ‘Okay, where’s Judi Dench?’” In her memoir, McWilliams mentioned that he had her doubts about Dench, not so much because she wasn’t up to the task—on the contrary, the actress was “at the height of her classical career.” To her surprise, Dench was “absolutely thrilled to be asked” the very next day.
On the other hand, there was the challenge of finding Brosnan’s replacement. Although we know that Daniel Craig was the one chosen, McWilliams commented that “It took a long time; I scoured the world.” It was a time when no one was interested in the role, and even Craig was “quite reluctant” to take it. But it was his performance in ‘Layer Cake’ that ultimately convinced Broccoli.
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Regarding Craig’s successor, McWilliams simply remarked, “There’s no set rule. It’s whoever fits the bill, frankly, and it will be different for different directors and different producers—and it’s about to change dramatically.”
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