Dougray Scott

Move over Pierce Brosnan, and all the actors speculated to become the next James Bond. Rumor has it that Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Gerard Butler, Colin Farrell, Colin Firth, Robson Green, Ioan Gruffud, Adrian Paul Hewett, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Heath Ledger, Ewan McGregor, Julian McMahon, Clive Owen, James Purefoy, Rikki Lee Travolta, among other speculated candidates, will not get the job, at least at this point in time. Instead, Scottish actor Dougray Scott may be the man to follow in the footsteps of his countryman, Sean Connery. According to Ben Todd, Showbiz Editor of the London Sunday Mirror, Scott will become 007 "number seven" James Bond.

Of the previous actors cast as Bond, five actually "officially" played the role: one was Scottish (Sean Connery), one Australian (George Lazenby), one British (Roger Moore), one Welsh (Timothy Dalton), and one was Irish (Pierce Brosnan).

Sean Connery was selected for the role at the age of 29 after producer Albert R. Broccoli saw him in Darby O'Gill and the Little People. He made his first appearance as the character at the age of 32 in Dr. No.

George Lazenby replaced Connery as Bond at the age of 29. Roger Moore stepped into the role at the age of 46 and Timothy Dalton at 41. Brosnan was originally offered the role at the age of 34 but had to wait ten years before his first appearance.

David Gavin was also once signed to play the character as a bargaining maneuver to convince Sean Connery to sign a contract to appear in Diamonds Are Forever (1970). Connery chose to sign. Gavin was paid, but never appeared in the film. He did, however, play the role as an aging Sir Bond in the 1967 007 parody Casino Royale. Irishman Terence Cooper, who died in obscurity in 1998, played Ian Fleming's superstar spy in the same spoof.

Over the past few weeks, other than the Scottsman Scott, the list of Agent 007 favorites narrowed to:

Two Brits

Adrian Paul (Highlander)

Adrian Paul Hewett

Clive Owen (King Arthur)

Clive Owen

Two Aussies

Eric Bana (The Hulk)

Eric Bana

Hugh Jackman (X-Men)

Hugh Jackman

One American

Rikki Lee Travolta (Camelot: Excalibur)

Travolta is also part Italian and Nez Perce American Indian.

In the media, they became known as "The Bond Five."

Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson narrowed the short-list based on talent, the appropriate look for the role, accent, and potential commercial appeal. However, they said, the deciding factor on who is ultimately cast could come down to age.

Eon Productions, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) and Sony Pictures (no, not Time Warner, after all), the producers of the Bond films and owners of the franchise, are expected to confirm that the 39-year-old Scott, star of Mission: Impossible 2 and Enigma, will, in fact, be Pierce Brosnan's replacement.

Now that Sony Pictures owns MGM and it 4,500-film library "in principle," Bond's new home is likely to be in Japan.

The $4.9 billion transaction ($2.94B in cash + $1.9B in debt) announced yesterday, however, does not include the Bond franchise. A separate deal with the Broccoli family is being negotiated. Sony's offer is backed by two private equity firms, the Texas Pacific Group and Providence Equity Partners. In 1989, Sony bought Columbia Pictures for $3.4 billion.

The Mirror says that Scott 'won his role after discussions with Barbara Broccoli, the producer of the long-running spy series. She wants to return 007 to his film roots'.

It quotes an anonymous insider as saying: 'Producers have been eager to take Bond back to the broody and sexy figure that Sean Connery was so brilliant at.

'Obviously, it's not possible for Sean to return at his age so they have been looking for a younger actor with similar characteristics.' However, many are hoping Connery will return as "M," James Bond's boss. This combination of Scotsmen would attract an audience of many generations.

Some say Scott's dark, smouldering good looks and husky Scottish accent make him the closest equivalent to Sir Sean Connery.

About Dougray Scott

Dougray (pronounced Doo-gray) Scott was born Stephen Scott on November 25, 1965 in Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland. Since the name Stephen Scott was already registered at Equity, he took his French grandmother's surname.

He is married to Sarah Trevis, a British Casting Director, who has been his partner of many years. Actor Ewan McGregor was the best man at their wedding in April 2000.

The couple have two children, twins, a boy and a girl named Gabriel and Eden. The twins were born in early 1998.

The 6' tall actor was trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama (1986-89) where he was named most promising drama student.

Theater

Since then, he has appeared in The Scottish Theatre Company, Snap Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre, Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, and the Hampstead Theatre in London.

His first professional acting job was in To Kill A Mockingbird at the Snap Theatre.

TV

Scott got his break in 1995 with a part in the ITV drama Soldier, Soldier. Subsequently he appeared in several other TV roles, including an adaptation of Iain Banks' The Crow Road (1996).

The Big Screen

Scott had a blink-of-the-eye brief appearance in Black Beauty as a street vendor.

In 1998, Scott starred with Drew Barrymore in Ever After after gaining notoriety as corrupt cop, Terry Walsh, in the movie Twin Town.

In 2000, he starred with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 2 which was directed by John Woo.

Scott played Cruise's fellow agent, Sean Ambrose who goes rogue. Ambrose steals a sample of a deadly synthetic virus named Chimera that could rapidly wipe out the world's population. Ambrose's plan is to sell Chimera to the highest bidder in exchange for shares of stock in the winner's company.

The following year, he co-starred with Kate Winslet as Tom Jericho in Robert Harris and Tom Stoppard's romance thriller called Enigma.

Scott starred in the 2003 movie To Kill A King about a man who is torn between loyalty to his wife and his king. Scott plays one of two central characters, General Thomas Fairfax. The working title of the film was Cromwell & Fairfax. Tim Roth played the role of Olivier Cromwell.

Scott's 2004 Films include: One Last Chance, Dark Water, Things to Do Before You're 30, Truth About Love and Spirit Trap

Look for him in 2005 in the WWII thriller The Cone Gatherer and the next vampire war film Perfect Creature directed by Glenn Standring. He also plans to play the title role of Becket at the Haymarket Theatre.

Sources say that Scott is thrilled at the prospect of taking over the most successful role in cinema history.

If you are interested in writing a letter of congratulations to Mr. Scott, he can be contacted through his agent as follows:

Mr. Dougray Scott
c/o PFD
Drury House
34-43 Russell Street
London WC2B 5HA
England

Celia Stevenson, of Scottish Screen, is in no doubt as to who would best fit the bill: "My money’s certainly on Dougray Scott," she says. "He’s got all the attributes to make a great Bond - smart, sexy, smooth, and of course a good actor. And he’s got that swashbuckling personality that makes him perfect for Bond."

The James Bond film franchise is already 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.

Bring on an Aussie. Bring on a Brit. Bring on a Scottsman. Just bring him on quick.

The world is ready for the 21st James Bond film to get under way!

In the meantime, all three volumes of the James Bond DVD Collection will become available on November 18th.

Previous Rugged Elegant Living Story About This Subject:

From Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan: Who Will Be The Next James Bond?