When the hashtag #BangForBond went viral earlier this year, even the man in question — Danish actor Claes Bang to be exact — hadn’t a clue that months later he would be sitting in Dubai and making a case for why he was the perfect man to play super spy 007.
The tall and handsome Danish actor certainly has the looks to slip into a suit and serve at the command of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. And for those of you who’ve seen the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner The Square, you would know that he certainly has all the trappings of a star in the making.
“Wouldn’t it be cool,” he quips, when Gulf News tabloid! posed the question. “I think I would make the perfect James Bond. Go on universe, make it happen. We just need to get Daniel Craig to retire and then, Bang!”
Pun intended, it would appear.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff), Bang is here to present The Square, famed Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s (Force Majeure) satirical take on human behaviour and values, centred around the world of contemporary art. Starring with him in the film is Elizabeth Moss (A Handmaid’s Tale), who plays an American journalist who somehow gets embroiled in an intimate relationship with Bang’s character Christian, who plays a curator at an art museum.
“Simply getting a foot into the door at the auditions was no easy feat. Ruben is known for his intense auditions and the first one we had lasted nearly three hours,” said Bang. “He made us write a speech [what you see in the film’s climax] and we had to deliver it over and over.”
Incidentally, most of Bang’s original speech made it to the film.
He continued: “After that first audition, there was a first call back, then a second and so on. And that’s when I found out that several Hollywood actors were also vying for the same role. I called up my agent and despaired that I didn’t stand a chance now.”
Bang refused to divulge the names of the Hollywood biggies, admitting he had been sworn to secrecy by Ruben.
In the film, Bang’s character is forced to trawl through a garbage dump in the pouring rain, fight with Moss over a used prophylactic, and even face-off an ape.
“That ape bloody terrified me,” laughed Bang. “Here we were trapped in a small flat, with an ape that came with its own set of instructions: don’t run in front of it, no loud noises, don’t laugh, don’t clap, don’t sneeze. One wrong move and that bloody thing could have ripped our faces off.”
Since the success of The Square, it was natural that Bang would have scripts landing on his desk from Hollywood. “I’m being selective though,” he stated.
His selectiveness has landed him a part in the upcoming Dragon Tattoo sequel, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, which will be directed by Don’t Breathe director Fede Alvarez.
“It is all very exciting now. Who knew that I would taste success like this at 50,” he laughed.
And, of course, there’s Bond. James Bond.
“Now that would be something. You think my mum could be the Bond girl?” comes the parting shot.
