A New James Bond?

With Daniel Craig vacating the role of the coolest super agent in the world, someone will have to step in the shoes of James Bond. On the very short list over five years ago, was Hugh Jackman. In fact Hugh Jackman was the leading candidate.

Problem was Hugh Jackman was already in the middle of playing another iconic role, Wolverine in X-Men 2. Jackman had said he greatly wanted to play the role of James Bond, but only wanted to play one great character at a time. Now that he is no longer playing Wolverine, the door has opened up again half a decade later. Hugh Jackman is once again considered to be playing James Bond and he has let it slip in several interviews that he would accept.

The only wrench could be that he has several other contenders for the job too. Mentioned as candidates are Ewan McGregor, Joshua Jackson, Jon Hamm, and my favorite candidate, Clive Owen.

Ewan has the Scottish ancestry like the greatest James Bond had, Sean Connery. The accent would go well with James Bond. He is more closer to a Daniel Craig James Bond, rather than a Connery Bond.

Joshua Jackson has a couple of stigmas playing against him. First, Dawson's Creek and The Mighty Ducks. Second, he's American and has no accent. He has the intensity for the role and is actually an accomplished actor, but still, he is an American and doesn't even give off the hint that he can play a Brit.

Jon Hamm can play suave like James Bond, but has no credibility as an action star. Also roles in other movies such as Bridesmaids make it harder to see him as a guy you want to root for in a action scene. Plus, he's an American that can't do a Brittish accent.

Finally, my first choice, Clive Owen. Looking into his career filmography, it's not hard to see that his resume plays as training for a role as 007. He has action credibility, the accent, the look, and has already played a role that basically was James Bond (in The Pink Panther). With his intensity and action star traits from Sin City and his great monologues in scenes from movies like Closer, he is the perfect fit.

While Hugh Jackman might be the front runner in real life, Clive Owen would be my choice if I were the casting director.