Daniel Craig was the latest actor to take on the license-to-kill secret agent James Bond. But with No Time to Die being Craig’s final James Bond film, it still leaves the question of who will take on these big shoes. Austin Butler gave an A+ reaction back when he pictured himself as the next James Bond, but all I can picture is the Ian Fleming character with an Elvis accent.
Austin Butler truly has come a long way since his child star days on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Now that Elvis has shown the American actor’s fluidity in talents and dialects, it poses the question of what other characters are in store for him as his career continues. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, a Teen Vogue video throwback from 2012 had Butler reveal he could envision himself playing James Bond donning a British accent. Here was the Golden Globe winner’s A+ reaction:
That's crazy. What was I thinking? ...I grew up loving James Bond.
It was hilarious seeing Austin Butler laugh and cringe at his 21-year-old self wanting to be James Bond. Back then, it probably seemed easy to imagine himself with a martini in hand in between kicking ass. As the actor is now 32, it may seem like an outlandish thought to take on such an iconic role.
Here’s the thing though- me picturing Austin Butler as James Bond only makes me think of James Bond with an Elvis accent. Imagining him saying the quotable words “Shaken, not stirred” makes me see the King of Rock 'n’ Roll actually say that while shaking his pelvis. As Butler spent three years perfecting his Elvis accent, Butler would get roasted for keeping his Memphis voice after the biopic premiered. But considering how long preparation was to play the "Viva Las Vegas" singer, it makes sense why the voice stuck with him. Last year, the BAFTA Award winner promised to drop his Elvis voice as singing like the “Hound Dog” singer made him think he ruined his vocal cords with all of those musical takes.
After hearing The Masters of the Air actor speak on The Tonight Show, it sounds like the Memphis dialect in Austin Butler’s voice is gone. But his tone has become more sultry and smooth which I’m, of course, not complaining about. It would absolutely do well with the sex appeal James Bond has brought throughout the years. On the other hand, a now older Butler believed the role of the MI6 agent wasn’t a strong fit for an American actor.
Nah, he's gotta be British.
Butler would be making history as the first American James Bond actor. When you look back at all eight actors who have played the legacy character, not all of them were British. Sean Connery was Scottish, George Lazenby is Australian, and Pierce Brosnan is Irish. So the Zoey 101 actor could represent the States taking on the role. However, the role of James Bond has traditionally been cast for actors in UK-based countries. It doesn’t mean, though, that the Dune 2 actor wouldn’t make a great secret agent someday. It could just mean playing a role of his own outside of the 007 series.
If Austin Butler were to play James Bond one of these days, it would be really hard for me to envision him in this role without thinking of the Elvis voice popping out saying those iconic action movie quotes. But if Butler didn’t use his Elvis voice for his villainous role in Dune 2, I think he’s capable of dropping it to play a secret agent. Then again, Elvis Presley himself playing a secret agent wouldn’t have been a shot in the dark back then either, and something I would have liked to have seen.
You can watch Austin Butler’s versatile acting in the 2024 movie release of Dune 2. You can also hear Butler’s Elvis shine through splendidly in Elvis available on your Max subscription.
