Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Stranger Things season 4's big bad Vecna, opens up about how much he'd love to be a James Bond villain. The 33-year-old British actor's first movie role was in 2007 in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as young sailor Anthony Hope. Moving further into the realms of fantasy, Bower went on to more substantial roles in The Twilight Saga; The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones; and as the Young Gellert Grindlewald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald. Bower is arguably best know for his recent turn as Stranger Things season 4 villain Vecna.
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Much about the next James Bond installment remains up in the air as Daniel Craig ended his decade and a half tenure as 007 at the close of 2021's No Time to Die, with writers killing off the character for the first time in the film series' 60-year history. Previously when the lead Bond actor has left the franchise, a reboot of sorts is initiated with the role of Bond being filled before any further developments are announced. The actor chosen would be signed up with the likelihood they would appear as 007 in multiple films, then the rest of the world is built around them film by film. While Bond himself is a legendary icon of the big screen, his exploits would be nothing without the villains Bond is out to try and stop.
Talking to Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, Bower was open about many aspects of his career including the relief in being able to talk about Stranger Things season 4 when it finally aired. He went on to say he was holding out to play an antagonist in a James Bond film, rather than looking to appear in something like Star Wars, stating he wanted to be the first actor under 30 to face off against 007. Beaten to it by Rami Malek in No Time to Die, Bower said:
With the baddies that you're so good at how have you not played an evil Imperial officer in Star Wars yet? Domnhall Gleason stole you gig basically, I think, and I love Domnhall.
I love Domnhall too! But I'm gonna be honest with you Josh, I'm gunning for James Bond. Not to play Bond, but to be a villain in Bond. And I remember before Rami did the film, I was like 'I'm gonna be the first person under 30 to do it' and the Rami comes along and just like kills it and I'm like, 'Dammit, I wanted to do that.'
Given that the actor cast in Bond 26 as 007 will have to undergo serious physical training, long and strenuous location and studio shooting, and potentially be available for multiple movies across many years, a younger actor playing Bond would seem more likely. Daniel Craig was 38 when he took on the role (53 when he hung up his license to kill) and there are still those who don't necessarily feel Bond needs to be played by a younger actor. Whichever way the casting goes, with a track record of portraying complex and often troubled characters on screen, Bower would seemingly be an ideal choice to go up against Britain's most famous secret agent.
While keen to follow other British actors into the role of Bond's next nemesis (previous actors have included icons such as Donald Pleasance, Sean Bean and Christopher Lee), Bower looks to have a pretty full schedule for the foreseeable future. He is currently filming the Kevin Costner produced Civil War drama Horizon; has a key role as family patriarch Ed Becker in true story exorcism drama True Haunting; and will be back as Vecna and looking for vengeance in Stranger Things season 5. Still, with the direction and casting of Bond 26 still largely under wraps, Bower could very well have a chance at pitting his wits against Bond in the next installment of the series.