Sean Connery, The Original James Bond

"The name is Bond...James Bond." There is perhaps no more famous character on the big screen. When Pierce Brosnan retires from the role as Secret Agent Double-O-Seven, who will be worthy of filling Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan's shoes?

Parade, The Sunday Newspaper Magazine asked that question of its readers, and one actor's name stood above the rest: The former Highlander star, forty-five year-old, Adrian Paul.

Before exploring Adrian Paul and a few other contenders who may be considered as the next James Bond, let's take a look at the way Bond's creator, Ian Fleming described him, and those who have taken on the role from 1962 to present day.

Ian Fleming's literary Bond:

6'2" tall, 167 pounds, slim build, blue eyes, black hair, scar down right cheek, straight nose, cruel mouth, firm jawline, flecks of grey hair, tanned. For the role, an English accent, humor, athleticism and acting ability are all a plus. I should think the actor should also be someone has heard of outside of the UK. Just because the guy is a tv star in England, it won't help ticket sales in U.S. if no one here has ever seen him.

In 1962, brilliant Scottish actor, Sean Connery set the stage forever as the first Secret Agent 007.

Connery won the role of Bond over Cary Grant, Rex Harrison, Trevor Howard, Patrick McGoohan and Roger Moore.

He starred in six Ian Fleming films: Dr No (1962), Goldfinger (1964), From Russia With Love (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). He also appeared in the unofficial Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again (1983).

(In an interesting side-note, Ian Fleming was also the author of the children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.)

Steven Spielberg said "There are seven genuine movie stars in the world today, and Sean Connery is one of them."

In 1989, Connery was voted by People Magazine as "The Sexiest Man Alive."

Today, at seventy-three years of age the Oscar, Golden Globe and Tony award-winning actor remains sexier than ever.

Since Connery's departure as James Bond in 1983, only four other actors have had the honor of stepping into his shoes: an Australian, two British Gents and an Irishman.

Aussie bloke, George Lazenby only played Bond once. The film was called On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

The Third James Bond, Roger Moore

Roger Moore's first take as Bond was in Live And Let Die (1973).

It has been said that Moore is closer to Ian Fleming's original concept of Bond, as a disenfranchised member of the British Establishment, than Connery's more rough-and-tumble Bond.

Moore and Connery are the only 007 agents who starred in seven Bond films.

Sir Moore's other six James Bond films were: The Man with The Golden Gun (1974), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), and A View To A Kill (1985).

Among those considered to replace Moore were Mel Gibson, Tom Selleck and Don Johnson.

Timothy Dalton as 007

However, the (1944) North Wales born, Timothy Dalton, who is of British, Italian, and Irish ancestry, won the role in August 1986. He took over as Bond twice in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence To Kill (1989).

The handsome Irish actor, Pierce Brosnan would have taken over the role after Moore had he not gotten caught up in a TV contract that was extended. Goldeneye (1995) was Brosnan's foray into 007's character. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002) have made him one of the most successful 007 agents to take the big screen.

Pierce Brosnan, Our Current James Bond

Brosnan was also a hit in the 1999 thriller The Thomas Crown Affair with Rene Russo. Last month, the actor turned fifty-one.

Bond made his first appearance in a book published by Coronet Books. The 1988 is called Casino Royale.

On June 24, 2004, Miramax Books announced they have bought the U.S. publishing rights to the first two books in a new adventure series about the teenage James Bond. Film rights are not part of the deal between Miramax's publishing division and Ian Fleming Publications, the company founded by Bond creator Ian Fleming and wholly owned by the Fleming family.

Jonathan Burnham, president and editor-in-chief of Miramax Books said "Charlie Higson has done a wonderful job of translating the Bond vision into a fresh new series for younger readers. It's exciting to be re-launching the Bond franchise for a new generation."

Miramax plans to publish the first book in Spring 2005.

Under consideration by the producers as the next James Bond in the twenty-second and perhaps future films:

Australian actor and singer, Hugh Jackman (10/12/68) recently starred in Van Helsing and has played Logan/the Wolverine in the Sci-Fi thriller X-Men series. X-Men 3 directed by Bryan Singer and co-starring Halle Berry expects a 2006 release. One fan went as far as to create a mock poster of Jackman in a James Bond-like pose.

Another top contender is Englishman Clive Owen (10/3/64). Owen played The Professor, Assassin in Robert Ludlum's thriller The Bourne Identity (2002) also starring Matt Damon. He took on the role of Arthur in King Arthur (2004). Owen is currently filming Sin City (2005) and in the upcoming James Siegel bestseller Derailed.

In the BMW Film series shown on the Internet and thanks to TiVo, Owen's driving skills proved his mettle as a James Bond contender.

Recently, a survey was done by Parade The Sunday Newspaper Magazine as to who should be the next James Bond. Hands-down, Adrian Paul came out as their audience's #1 replacement choice.

Adrian Paul Hewett was born on May 29, 1959 in London, England, UK. His Italian mother and British father raised him in London. Before coming to America, he was a model, dance and choreographer. He was also a semi-professional soccer player. While Paul studied Shakespeare, one of his favorite authors, and performed in class plays throughout school, acting was less of a focus until he moved to America. Fluent in English, French and Italian, he came to the states to pursue a dance and modeling career until he was encouraged to audition for an ABC television series called The Colbys. After a stint on Broadway, other tv shows and the 1989 film Last Rites, in 1992 he landed the role of Duncan MacLeod in the syndicated tv series, Highlander.

From June 25 - 31, TVNow is highlighting past performances of Paul's from fifty episodes of Highlander, Highlander-Endgame (2000) to Murder, She Wrote, The Breed (2001), Love Potion No. 9 (1992), and Nemesis Game (2003). In addition to a number of other feature films currently in production, Paul is working on a film based on the life of the misunderstood 18th century Italian adventurer and scholar Giovanni Giacomo Casanova.

With over a decade under his belt in martial arts (kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do and Hung Gar Kung Fu), this expertise would certainly make some of his 007 action scenes look authentic.

Like Connery, one of Paul's favorite hobbies is golf.

Paul has also been lauded by People Magazine as one of sexiest celebrities. In November 2000, he was given the title "Sexiest Action Star."

In his spare time, Paul works with his P.E.A.C.E (Protect, Educate and Aid Children Everywhere) Fund, a foundation designed to help ill, abused and needy children.

In addition to Jackman, Owen and Adrian Paul, James Bond fan sites have also recommended:

Edward Atterton, Christian Bale, Gerard Butler, Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise, James D'Arcy, Jack Davenport, Alexis Denisof, Matt Day, Rupert Everett, Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode, Ioan Gruffudd, Hugh Grant, Jason Isaacs, Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Jeremy Northam, Guy Pearce, James Purefoy, Clive Robertson, Dougray Scott, Rufus Sewell, Rikki Lee Travolta, Colin Wells, Dominic West, and Robbie Williams.

Robson Green (12/18/64), who lives in the South of England and Northumberland with his wife Vanya (3/10/01) and their son Taylor (4/29/00), is also making an appearance on James Bond fan sites. Green starred in the BBC dramas Casualty, Soldier, Soldier, Reckless, Trust, and Venus and Mars and was last seen in the tv drama Unconditional Love.

One additional consideration, thanks to the inspiration of a reader, is Jason Isaacs. Isaacs plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter series (which we saw last week). He also played both the father and Captain Hook in the 2003 release of Peter Pan (which we saw two nights ago). Isaacs is a debonair character who has the capability of being a proper English gent in one scene to a sexy "rugged elegant" action hero in the next. Excellent suggestion!

The Best of James Bond x Two

The ever-sexy, sauve and debonaire, Sir Sean Connery (today, a young 73 years of age) has been encouraged by Dame Judi Dench to take over the role as "M," James Bond's boss. Brilliant idea!

Personally, there has only been one James Bond and that is Sean Connery. However, the producers of the film series would do well to couple a bright new star with the original actor. The twenty-second film could represent the best of the original and a new generation of Bond.

The Alpha Female Factor: Jaime Bond

Should the producers decide to leverage today's Eve-olution they ought to consider retiring James Bond for his daughter, Jaime (kind of an Italian Job meets Nikita). Jaime is French for "I love."

If this is a consideration, we recommend: Peta Wilson -- for all us die-hard La Femme Nikita fans.

Having played against Sean Connery in the 2002 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen perhaps Connery would put in a good word for the Australia-born Wilson (11/8/70).

The James Bond film franchise is considered the most successful in history, spanning four decades. According to author James Chapman (License to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films) it is estimated that a quarter of the world's population has seen at least one Bond film.

Filming of the 21st Bond film is expected to begin in early 2005. Stay tuned as to who will have the name "007" added to his...or her...list of credits.

Share with us, in the Comments field below, who you think should be the next James Bond.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

~Jennifer King

In the meantime, you too can be like 007:

Omega Seamaster James Bond Midsize Watch

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And for anyone with an agent-like mind may we recommend:

The James Bond Stealth Camera by Digital Dream

For $99.99, the features of this camera include:

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Video Clip Recording with Sound: Make undercover recordings of up to 30 seconds duration

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To read Walter Scott's June 27th column who broaches this subject and was the inspiration for this post, go to Personality Parade at Parade.com after July 5th.

For one of the Internet's most frequently updated James Bond news sources, go to: CommanderBond.Net

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