Surprising New James Bond Actor Is Already a 'Dexter' Star
When IO Interactive dropped its first trailer for the new James Bond game, 007 First Light, the most surprising thing was the revelation of a new actor, playing Bond himself. This blonde-ish Bond is younger than were used to, and for hardcore fans, recalled the vibe of Bond from Charlie Higson's YA Young Bond books, or the prequel novel by Anthony Horowitz, Forever and a Day. But who is this young, dashing young star?
The answer is that the new James Bond (in video game form) is an actor with an impressive resume. As pointed out by the Bond fan Instagram account, 007EverythingOrNothing, the new Bond is actor Patrick Gibson, sometimes known as Paddy Gibson. And for fans of Dexter: Original Sin, Gibson played the younger version of the titular character in that hit show. Basically, Gibson has already played a famous killer before stepping into the role of James Bond, albeit a killer of a very different type.
007 First Light will tell a new kind of James Bond origin story, in a contemporary setting. This is a different type of reboot, one that exists outside of the continuity of the films or existing books. That said, the modern vibe to the trailer does have shades of Kim Sherwood's recent Double O novels, Double or Nothing and A Spy Like Me. Essentially, like the movies, this game suggests that the world can change, but a younger version of Bond will always remain Bond.
At 30 years old, it's notable that Patrick Gibson is one year younger than Sean Connery was when he filmed Dr. No in 1962. He's also close to the age George Lazenby was in 1969 (29) in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
To be clear, there's no reason to think that Gibson will also become the cinematic Bond in the hush-hush new film being developed by Amazon MGM. That said, if fans end up loving 007 First Light next year, it's possible that Gibson could emerge as a new favorite. Technically, he's the first new James Bond actor announced in the past 19 years, and he's already got an impressive acting career to back it up.