If Denis Villeneuve wasn’t already directing Bond 26, I know plenty of people who wouldn’t mind if Christopher Nolan took a crack at helming a movie featuring the legendary superspy. But alas, Nolan is hibernating for at least three years after releasing The Odyssey in theaters this weekend, and besides, Villeneuve is an outstanding fit for the character’s next mission. Recently, while speaking with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Nolan revealed the title of his favorite Bond film and his preferred actor to play the character throughout his storied adventures. The clip isn’t anything new. It’s actually from late August 2020, when Nolan was doing press for the theatrical release of Tenet. Still, it’s making the rounds again thanks to The Odyssey opening in theaters and Bond being a hot topic in contemporary conversations about cinema.
During the interview, Josh Horowitz asks Nolan to name his favorite Bond actor and film, to which Nolan replies, “My favorite Bond film is On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, as anyone who’s seen Inception can probably figure out. My favorite Bond actor is Timothy Dalton. The Living Daylights is very, very good, but I was let down a bit by the climax, in technical terms. He’s [Dalton] fantastic. [He notes] License to Kill is aging better than expected in some ways, but Dalton is closest to the character in the book, and it would have been interesting to see him do more.”
While Timothy Dalton is far from the most popular Bond actor, his portrayal aligns perfectly with Ian Fleming’s gritty, cynical version from the novels. If Nolan is a fan of Fleming’s work, and it’s obvious that he is, it’s easy to understand why Dalton would be his favorite of the many who have stepped into the role.
When asked if he’s gotten Bond out of his system after the character has influenced several of his films, Nolan explained, “Yes and no,” pointing out that things you loved when you were growing up tend to stick with you throughout the years. Bond was a significant part of his childhood and beyond, making it difficult to shake that 007 influence from his creative DNA completely.
Christopher Nolan is content to let other filmmakers handle the Bond franchise, but I would not count him out when it comes to helming one of the superspy’s cinematic missions down the road. Nolan’s got plenty of creative gas left in the tank. We may see him take on the Bond franchise at some point. I’d be down for that.