Though his involvement had been rumored for some time, Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem has officially confirmed he’ll be making life miserable for James Bond as a villain in the next installment of the franchise, tentatively titled “Bond 23”. He revealed his involvement to Christiane Amanpour on ABC’s “Nightline”.
“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,” Bardem told Amanpour. “They choose me to play this man, but I cannot give you many details.”
Directed by Sam Mendes, “Bond 23” is slated for release on November 9, 2012. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench will be reprising their roles as Bond and “M”, respectively. Ralph Fiennes has also joined the cast.
It’s no surprise that the Spanish thesp was approached to play the as-yet-unnamed villain, having won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2008 for his performance as the coin-flipping, cattle gun-wielding Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men”. He was also recently cast in a voice role as the villainous “El Macho” in “Despicable Me 2”.
You can watch the full “Nightline” interview below: