Reasons Aidan Turner from Poldark Would Make a Great James Bond

In his role as Ross Poldark, Irish actor Aidan Turner has won many awards and even more fans.

This has led to speculation that he is ready to take on one of the most challenging and highly-prized movie roles of all, that of James Bond. What reasons do we have for thinking that he could be perfect as 007?

 

The Current Situation with Bond

No Time to Die is the upcoming 007 thriller that is due to finally be released later in 2021 after being delayed in 2020. It will be Daniel Craig’s fifth and final time playing the suave secret agent. Craig started in this role in 2006’s Casino Royale and he has now become firmly established as one of our all-time favourite Bonds.

Producer Barbara Broccoli has been quoted recently as saying that some time will need to pass after the next movie before they get down to the “business of the future” in choosing a new main actor. One of the interesting aspects of the role is how “each actor has reimagined the role”, according to Broccoli.

Craig has famously explored the darker, edgier side of the character and said that Bond is an anti-hero and misogynist, but Sean Connery played it with a strong twist of ironic humour. Therefore, it seems certain that Turner would need to convince the production team about the merits of his version of the character and what he could bring to the role to give us a new, different type of Bond.

It is worth remembering that this iconic role has typically propelled the actor to fame, rather than being given to someone who is already at the top of the film industry. In fact, it could be said that Turner is already a far more accomplished actor than the likes of Sean Connery and George Lazenby were when they first played 007. He even got recruited as a special agent to protect King George III in the fifth series of Poldark.

 

The Physical Aspect

We have seen over the years that a variety of diverse-looking actors have taken on this role and made it their own, from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan and Roger Moore. Barbara Broccoli has confirmed that the actor doesn’t have to be British or white, but that there are no plans for a woman to take over the role any time soon.

Aidan Turner has shown that he can handle physical, action scenes as well as looking good in romantic plots, with both elements key parts of any of Bond’s on-screen adventures. We have even seen him emerge, dripping-wet and moody, from the sea just like Daniel Craig when he made his first appearance as 007. All of this makes us think that he has the charisma and visual appeal needed to take over the role.

He has also shown the dapper look needed by Bond to play roulette in casinos. This is the simplest table game in the casino where you can place inside bets like straight-up or split, as well as outside bets such as red or black. The rules are simple, with a set payout and probability rate for each bet, but Bond has to look relaxed and in control playing with high stakes and complex strategies.

 

What Are His Chances?

According to the latest bookmaker’s odds, among his rivals for the role are well-respected actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy and Tom Hiddleston. However, his acting in Poldark should stand him in good stead, as he had already displayed many of the qualities needed to take on this famous role. His latest role as Leonardo da Vinci should help to show off more his acting skills too.

Former 007 Roger Moore spoke out on his behalf in a TalkRadio interview shortly he passed away. Moore, a veteran of seven Bond movies, said that Turner “looks very good” and also suggested that Hiddleston could handle the role. As for his own thoughts on the matter, Turner was quoted in 2018 as saying that when the role is free, “I’ll have a look at it”.

We’ll need to wait a bit longer to find out if Aidan Turner makes the leap from Ross Poldark to James Bond, but for the moment it is pretty easy to imagine him playing the agent and doing a great job of it.