Werner Herzog says he would be good as a Bond villain
Legendary director says the iconic franchise’s recent villains ‘weren’t that convincing’
Werner Herzog is best known for his work behind the camera, as the director of some of the most memorable movies ever made both fictional (“Fitzcarraldo”) and documentary (“Grizzly Man”).
But as he told Business Insider on Monday, he loves “everything that has to do with cinema,” and that includes being an occasional actor.
Over his career, his unique brand of storytelling that focuses on ambition and the dark fringes of society has bled into the kinds of roles he’s taken, most notably playing the villain in the 2012 Tom Cruise movie “Jack Reacher,” based on the popular Lee Child novels.
Herzog is in his fully glory in “Jack Reacher” playing the sinister Zec, who has spent most of his life in a Soviet Union Gulag and has the scars to prove it — he once chewed off his fingers before the frostbite could turn to gangrene.
Here’s Herzog in action in “Jack Reacher” (his unmistakable voice is perfect for the part):
Now the 74-year-old tells us he’s ready to be the villain on one of the most famous movie franchises ever.