Next Bond villian?

Roger Friedman, a man who works at Fox News, is claiming to know the identity of the actor who will play the villain in the 22nd James Bond movie. If you let me, I would like to reveal this man’s identity to you. Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll assume you want to know. Look at the picture right next to these words. Apparently, that’s the dude. His name is Mathieu Almaric, a French actor who’s had small roles in MUNICH and MARIE ANTOINETTE, in which he played ‘Man at Masked Ball.’

If there are any connoisseurs of world cinema out there, you may recognize Almaric from Julian Schnabel’s THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, which earned raves at Cannes this year and the best director prize for Schnabel. Johnny Depp was set to play the male lead, but had to drop out to film the PIRATES sequels, leaving the door open for Almaric, who apparently killed it (we’re talking Oscar buzz).

This Friedman character is pretty confident in his claim, calling it a “done deal.” You can read the rest of the report HERE, where Friedman documents Almaric’s career breakthrough (he started acting at the age of 30). I like the fact that the Bond producers aren’t relying on big-name actors to play their villains. Anonymity breeds menace.