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Rumours about this have been floating around since the start of the year – but it’s just been confirmed that Spanish actor Javier Bardem is to play the villain in the next James Bond film.

Speaking in an interview on ABC TV (skip to 04:40), the 42 year-old actor who won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as psychopathic assassin Chigurh in No Country For Old Men confirmed his involvement in the film saying “I’m very excited because my parents took me to watch the movies and I saw all of them, so to play that is going to be fun.”

Unsurprisingly, Bardem gave little away about his character, saying only “They chose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details.”

Bond 23 (which is rumoured to be titled Skyfall) will be the third Bond outing for Daniel Craig who’s involvement in the 49 year old film franchise has drawn critical acclaim and seen the highest box office takings in the series’ history.

American Beauty director Sam Mendes has signed on to direct the film which is due for release on October 26th 2012.

Personally I think this is great news – not only is Bardem a great actor (perhaps one of the best working today) but he’s also an actor with real physical presence, something the Bond franchise has really been missing in recent years.

Let’s be honest – it’s been a long time since Bond had an adversary that was his physical match. In nearly 50 years we’ve gone from Sean Connery battling Robert Shaw’s Red Grant on a train (in surely one of the most iconic fight scenes in cinema history) to Daniel Craig slapping around a Frenchman in a luxury hotel. With Daniel Craig, the producers took Bond back to basics, it’s time they did the same with the bad guys.

Let’s just hope the screenwriters can deliver the goods and develop a character that doesn’t waste Bardem’s talents!

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