There were rumours last week that Sony was zeroing in on a villain for Bond 22 and that it was likely to be Mathieu Amalric, star of the upcoming The Diving Bell And The Butterfly. We can now 100% confirm it, having spoken to Almaric earlier today.
Amalric would not be drawn on details of the character, but said that, yes, he will play the bad guy in the 22nd Bond movie. "I will, it’s true. I play the villain, yes. James Bond," Amalric said. "It has to do with childhood, you know? To be a villain in James Bond is just so funny. I never dreamt about that. It’s not what I want to do with my career. It’s just that I have kids and it’s so funny to do that. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not going to do a very small French film for free with my friends.”
He seems perfect Bond villain casting to us, possessing foreignness, a slightly crazed look in his eye and a lot of acting talent (watch The Diving Bell And The Butterfly to see for yourself). Eva Green has dropped hints in the past that the villain of the next film would be her boyfriend referenced in Casino Royale. Could that be who Amalric will be playing? And are we going to be getting peeks at Bond's childhood?
With the villain rumours now at an end, we can move on to guessing at the Bond girl. We're saying Bella Emberg or that nice Kate Garraway from GMTV, just to mix things up.