After rumors surfaced that Timothy Olyphant, the star of Justified on FX, would be playing James Bond in the upcoming James Bond 24 film, the candid actor took a moment to address how he would interpret the character were he fortunate enough to land the role.
During an appearance on Conan, Olyphant said that he would change 007’s name to “James Bong” and smoke marijuana. Olyphant apparently feels that having the classic character smoke pot would be a way of getting around the accent that playing the part requires.
“I could do an accent if it’s absolutely necessary, I mean, I don’t want to lose the job right here…. I think the key, though, it that he needs to be a little more chill, a little more like… I think he should smoke weed,” Olyphant said.
“The last guy drank Heineken, it used to be martinis and bow ties, now he’s drinking beers and I think the natural progression is… you know. Bong. James Bong!”
The fifth season of Justified began Tuesday night. In the series, Olyphant plays U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens, a Kentucky lawman who has been stationed in his hometown after his high volume of justified shootings raised some eyebrows. The character was created by deceased crime author Elmore Leonard.
“He was just as cool as they come,” Olyphant said of Leonard. “Pretty early on, he told me not to be afraid to lose the hat. He said, ‘You know, maybe a gust of wind just comes along and you never see it again.’ I thought that was fantastic.”
The show was inspired by Leonard’s short story “Fire in the Hole.” He died in August at age 87.
[Memphis Commercial Appeal]
