The 10 Worst Casting Decisions in James Bond Films

James Bond is one of the biggest and most popular film franchises of all time. Anytime that there is a new installment on the horizon, there is an enormous debate about not only who will play the man himself, but also the Bond girl and of course the villain. Throughout the franchise’s long history, even the biggest Bond fans will admit that there have been some terrible films and some embarrassing performances which have stemmed from very poor casting decisions. Despite this, it remains an immensely popular franchise and this is a testament to Ian Fleming’s writing and the many excellent movies in the series.

10. Putter Smith – Diamonds Are Forever

The first of a few appearances from Diamonds Are Forever. Up first is a henchman. Out of all the Bond characters, the henchmen have the smallest and simplest roles, yet evidently even they can be horribly miscast. One way to do this is to give the role to somebody with zero acting experience, as was the case with jazz legend Putter Smith as Mr. Kidd. He and Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) are Blofeld’s henchmen, and are widely considered to be some of the worst characters in the entire series. Smith’s lack of acting skills are painfully on display as he delivers each line with too much enthusiasm, contributing to the camp and silly tone of the film. One critic would slam the duo’s performance, stating that in “looking and acting like a couple of pseudo-country bumpkins, they seem to have wandered by accident from the adjoining sound stage into the filming of this movie.”