Tribute.ca presents James Bond - Spectre

Die Another Day star says Bond has moved on


Toby Stephens – who played Bond villain Gustav Graves in 2002’s Die Another Day – is pretty sure that Daniel Craig‘s involvement in the spy franchise was necessary to reinvigorate the series. Why? Because Stephens thinks that the franchise “reached the apotheosis of ridiculousness” with his entry. “I think that’s great that Bond has moved […]

Toby Stephens – who played Bond villain Gustav Graves in 2002’s Die Another Day – is pretty sure that Daniel Craig‘s involvement in the spy franchise was necessary to reinvigorate the series. Why? Because Stephens thinks that the franchise “reached the apotheosis of ridiculousness” with his entry. “I think that’s great that Bond has moved on,” Stephens tells Digital Spy. “I remember going in for the casting and having this meeting with the director and Barbara Broccoli. They’d sent me two pages of dialogue for the character Gustav Graves, and I did the scene and they said, ‘Do you know what’s going on here?’ And I said, ‘No, this guy is doing a press conference.’ And they said, ‘OK, we’ll tell you. He’s actually a North Korean who’s had a genetic reworking and he’s now a Westerner.’ I’m walking out and I’m like, ‘What the hell was that about?'”

Stephens does, however, admit to missing the humor of the early days of Bond’s history, something that is noticeably missing from the dark, gritty take that Craig’s portion of the franchise has adopted. When asked to compare the two most recent actors to don the guise of 007 – Craig and his predecessor, Pierce Brosnan – Stephens found it understandably difficult to choose. “The great thing about Daniel is that he has some sort of darkness,” Stephens explains. “He’s a very fine actor and he brings something that’s much more textured to the part. I do miss the wry panache of Brosnan. Whereas Daniel is a bit more thuggish, but there is something kind of compelling about that.” The latest installment in the franchise, Skyfall, opens on November 9th. ~Devin Garabedian

Around the Web:

Comments: