New James Bond Actor Favorite Has the One Thing Jacob Elordi Doesn’t

Amazon MGM Studios is one step closer to finding the next James Bond. Unfortunately for Jacob Elordi fans, a new frontrunner for 007 has emerged, and this actor has one thing the Euphoria star doesn’t: anonymity.

Jack Barton’s anonymity makes him perfect for James Bond

A Page Six Hollywood report claims that the 007 race is down to six actors: Jack Barton, Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, and Harris Dickinson. However, “the one actor who is apparently leading the pack, with insiders calling him ‘The One,’ is Barton, 31, who was found by casting director Nina Gold as she scoured the UK for unknowns to play the new 007.”

Elordi fans may not want to hear it, but Bond has typically gone to an “unknown,” especially the last few iterations. Now, “unknown” doesn’t mean that the actor is a fresh face in the industry. Quite the opposite, in fact. As it pertains to Bond, an “unknown” can be an actor who has yet to break out on film.

Pierce Brosnan, for instance, was only known for playing the title character in the hit television series Remington Steele. Daniel Craig’s film career before being cast as 007 in Casino Royale was largely made up of supporting roles.

Bond, like other major roles like Spider-Man and Harry Potter, works best if you see the character before the actor. Brosnan and Craig will always be seen as Bond, and that’s because their careers before 007 pale in comparison to what came after.

Barton is the biggest blank slate out of the six aforementioned 007 contenders. He’s had a few small roles in film and television, with David Nelson in Heartstopper being his biggest. However, there’s not likely to be a ton of audience overlap between Heartstopper and James Bond, making him a true “unknown.”

Elordi, on the other hand, is quite well-known. He’s already been part of a major film series, Netflix’s The Kissing Booth, and an Emmy-winning series, HBO’s Euphoria. He’s played Elvis Presley and Frankenstein’s monster, the latter of which got him an Oscar nomination. Out of the six actors, he’s arguably the most well-known and established as a leading man.

This makes it hard for audiences to see James Bond, the 00 spy, and not Jacob Elordi, the actor. After all, a person’s suspension of disbelief can only be stretched so far before bursting.

A lot is riding on this next era of James Bond. Whoever is cast will be expected to lead the franchise for at least a decade. Elordi comes with a lot of built-in preconceptions or bias from audiences. Barton, for the most part, is free of that.

If Amazon wants to build off the well-received appointment of Denis Villeneuve as director and Steven Knight as writer, casting an unknown as 007 over a familiar face like Elordi makes the most sense.

Source: Comingsoon.net