Worthington practises his James Bond 'smoulder'.
Australian actor Sam Worthington has been named as bookies favourite to play British hero James Bond.
As British producers scan the globe looking for someone to replace the popular Daniel Craig, their eyes seem to have fallen onto Australia and the star of the Avatar movie.
Bookmakers William Hill have placed Worthington as 5/2 favourite to play the sexy British spy. However he does have some competition from Briton Christian Bale and American Will Smith, both placed at 7/1 in the bookies stakes.
Also in the running are Ewan McGregor, Jude Law, Robert Pattinson and Tom Cruise.
For now Daniel Craig is set to carry on with the role for a second blockbuster movie, but the movie’s schedule has been thrown into chaos by the auction of movie giant MGM. This means that filming is delayed and should Craig have other commitments when production finally gets off the ground, James Bond may be regenerating sooner than anticipated.
In fact the Doctor Who comparisons don’t end there, after all he has been played by eight actors in films and television and he changes his beautiful women assistants more times than he changes his suits. Swap the sonic screwdriver for Bond’s Rolex watch that has a million sub-functions and there you have it! James Bond IS Doctor Who – you heard it here first! The only thing that’s missing is the Tardis, although I’m sure Q could rustle something up.
If Worthington gets the prestigious role it won’t be the first time Bond has been played by an Australian, George Lazenby who starred in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ in 1969 was born in New South Wales. Unfortunately for Lazenby his role as Bond never really took off with audiences so can Worthington do any better?
Worthington has had major roles before, playing the cyborg hero in Terminator Salvation and taking on the role of Jake Sully in Avatar. He has won the 2009 GQ Australian Actor award and various Man of the Year awards – so he has the popularity and is definitely a hit with the ladies, also the fact that he remains relatively unknown may work in his favour. Will Smith has, to some extent, already been typecast as a comedy actor who can take on quasi-serious roles and Tom Cruise’s affiliation with Scientology may prove to be too hot of an issue for Bond producers to handle.
Have your say – do you think Sam Worthington is up to the role of iconic British spy James Bond? Who would you like to see in the role? Tell us your opinions in the comments box below.
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