I am starting to get bored of this, but I’m still letting you know, how sad is that? Anyway it looks like after Clive Owen won his Golden Globe and is looking more and more favourable at the Oscars, his profile is being raised enough to be reflected in the UK Bookmakers.
William Hill have placed him at 6-4 favourite to land the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Closer. They’ve also halved his odds to be the next Bond. Oh give me strength. Reuters carry the story:
“Since winning the Golden Globe, we have had a succession of calls from punters who think he would make an excellent Bond,” said a spokesman on Tuesday.
Owen is now priced at 4-1 from 8-1.
But “Van Helsing” actor Hugh Jackman is still 2-1 favourite to take over from Pierce Brosnan and land the coveted role of the world’s most famous spy. Second favourite at 7-2 is Ewan McGregor.
IMDB also carry the story but have a comment from an spokesperson at Ladbrokes, bear in mind that’s another betting company, not an insider in the movie industry:
A decision on who will replace Brosnan has been delayed while a power struggle wages between Bond movie makers the Broccoli family and MGM over who should be offered the role. The spokesperson adds, “Who takes on the role could well depend on who comes out top in the power struggle behind the scenes. If the Broccoli family win we could well see an unknown actor, while if the money men have their way we could see a top star in the role. Last year, a source told us that the producers had a list of ten actors that they were looking at.”
Why can’t they just hurry up and decide?! I wonder now if Owen has just a little too much exposure to take the role. He’s just won a Globe and could be coming away with an Oscar. Perhaps that’s just a little too much success for an actor to walk into the Bond role. The debate will no doubt continue for some time yet.
