Bill Skarsgård Has a Theory About Why 007 Never Called
Few actors working today have built a résumé as unsettling as Bill Skarsgård’s. He has played Pennywise in the ‘It’ movies, Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu,’ Eric Draven in ‘The Crow’ and the Marquis in ‘John Wick: Chapter 4.’ Horror and villainy have become his calling card.
Meanwhile, the hunt for the next James Bond has become one of Hollywood’s longest-running guessing games. Reports have said that Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor screen tested for the part, and that Robert Pattinson did too, while Nicholas Hoult’s name has surfaced as another potential contender. The search is happening ahead of Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming film.
With so many actors reportedly in the running, you might expect one of cinema’s creepiest Swedes to at least have gotten a phone call. According to Skarsgård himself, he didn’t. In a recent appearance on Josh Horowitz’s ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, he revealed he wasn’t asked to test for Villeneuve’s reboot.
The actor played it for laughs. He quipped that nobody called him about Bond and that he didn’t know what that was about. He said he “wasn’t even thrown into the mix,” even though British and Australian actors were seemingly auditioning left and right.
His explanation is a joke at his own expense. Maybe the filmmakers decided they couldn’t do a Swede for this role, he suggested. The line sums up the long tradition of Bond being played by actors from the UK and its Commonwealth.
Still, don’t expect him to be heartbroken. Skarsgård agreed with Horowitz that he wouldn’t necessarily want to commit to leading the franchise for 10 or 15 years. What he’d actually enjoy, he said, is a single turn as a villain in the vein of Mads Mikkelsen’s baddie.
That fits with how he currently talks about villain roles. Asked whether he’d take on another scary antagonist, he said it would have to feel original and be something he hadn’t done before, adding that he feels spent with those kinds of characters. He also said there are villains that could be really fun in different ways, if they’re the right kind.
It’s also not the first time Bond baddies have come up for him. Horowitz raised Skarsgård’s longtime interest in playing a villain in the franchise. He quipped that he’d enjoy stroking a cat, then admitted that sounded weird.
As for how he chooses projects, he said he simply feels drawn or compelled to certain roles and can’t really put the feeling into words. That instinct has served him well so far. It is hard to argue with the career it has built.
The podcast chat also went in a lighter direction. Skarsgård said he skips Halloween costumes because transforming into characters already feels like work, though his daughter planned to dress as a vampire. He has even said his Pennywise voice sometimes slips out at home.
For now, Bond fans will have to wait on official casting news. If the franchise ever does want a memorable adversary, Skarsgård has made it clear he’d happily pick up the phone.
