movies

BondPotterWho

Quite a long time ago, I noticed that quite a lot of actors in the Harry Potter movies have also been in Doctor Who, and there are also several actors in Harry Potter that have also been in one of the more recent Bond movies. This led to a conversation with some like-minded friends, during which we decided that, like a Bacon number, british actors should have a ranking system based on how many of the UK's national institutions in which they have appeared, and that we should use Harry Potter, James Bond and Doctor Who as our three. We also decided that John Cleese is the only one we could think of who's been in all three.

In fact, there are four. The obvious one, John Cleese, had a cameo role as an art critic in the Doctor Who episode "City of Death", a slightly larger role as Nearly Headless Nick in Harry Potter, and a role as Q's replacement in two Bond movies.

Julian Glover has also been in all three. He's one of those actors who has been in practically everything but nobody really notices him. He's been in Star Wars and Indiana Jones, and two roles in Doctor Who, most memorably Scaroth in "City of Death". He played the villan Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and voiced Aragog the spider in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Yes, we are counting voice roles.

Helen McCrory is best known as Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, but has appeared in Doctor Who as head vampire Rosanna in "Vampires of Venice", and as the MP Clair Dowar in Skyfall.

Last, but by no means least, we have Greg Bennett. Judging from his IMDB profile he's a background actor for hire, he's been in pretty much everything. He's had multiple roles in Doctor Who, and has also appeared in the other two, albeit in uncredited minor roles.

Interestingly, only three lead actors have "crossed over" as it were. Two Doctors have appeared in Harry Potter; David Tennant and John Hurt (because he counts as a Doctor in my book.) and only one Bond, Timothy Dalton, has appeared in Doctor Who, as the corrupt Time Lord leader, Rassilon.

A few other honourable mentions before the complete list. BBC News presenter Huw Edwards has managed to play himself in both Doctor Who and James Bond. He appears on the television in the Doctor Who episode "Fear Her", and also in Skyfall. BAFTA and Golden Globe winner Bill Nighy has had walk-on roles in both the Doctor Who episode "Vincent and the Doctor", and in the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and was rumoured to be in the running to play the ninth Doctor back in 2005. Finally, veteran actor Warwick Davis has yet to appear in a Bond movie, but that's not to say he won't one day, seeing as he's been in pretty much everything else!

On the subject of people who have been in virtually everything, Martin Freeman doesn't appear to have been in Doctor Who, James Bond or Harry Potter. I'm sure this will be rectified soon, especially as he clearly knows Steven Moffat.

I'm sure this list will be revised in the future, especially as Downton Abbey and Coronation Street both seem to be melting pots of well-known actors these days. In the meantime, here's a complete list of everyone who's been in more than one of Doctor Who, James Bond and Harry Potter, plus links to IMDB so you can see who they played. Enjoy, stats fans.

| Greg Bennett | (James Bond, Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | --- | --- | | Julian Glover | (James Bond, Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | John Cleese | (James Bond, Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Helen McCrory | (James Bond, Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | | | | Roy Stewart | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ingrid Pitt | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | John Hurt | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Peter Roy | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Imelda Staunton | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Lesley Hill | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | John Atterbury | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Jeremy Bulloch | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ralph Fiennes | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Shirley Henderson | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | George Pravda | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | John Hollis | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | James Bree | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Noel Johnson | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Anthony Carrick | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Michael Percival | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | George Roubicek | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Colin Salmon | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Christopher Bowen | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jim Conway | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Leonard Sachs | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Peter Cartwright | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Simon Fisher-Becker | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Ellie Darcey-Alden | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Jessica Hynes | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Bill Hutchinson | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Joseph Frst | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Graham Crowden | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Carl McCrystal | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | David de Keyser | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Edward de Souza | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Cyril Shaps | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Zoë Wanamaker | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Christina Cole | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Philip Voss | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Mark Williams | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Marc Lawrence | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Peter Brooke | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Graham Cole | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ron Tarr | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Bill Nighy | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Alan Talbot | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Terrance Denville | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Patrick Barr | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Dennis Edwards | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Barry Andrews | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | R.J. Bell | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Tim Pigott-Smith | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jimmy Vee | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Jeffry Wickham | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Burnell Tucker | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Graham Duff | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Glen Stanway | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Neil Hallett | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Tony Sibbald | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | David Yip | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Paul Ritter | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Jeff Rawle | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Kristopher Kum | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Neville Jason | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Geoffrey Palmer | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Max Faulkner | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Rocky Taylor | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Derek Deadman | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Selva Rasalingam | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Warwick Davis | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Jeremy Wilkin | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Michael Byrne | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Paul Carson | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Hans De Vries | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Burt Kwouk | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Bill Mitchell | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Pip Torrens | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Robbie Coltrane | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Kerry Shale | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | David Bradley | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | John Sarbutt | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Elizabeth Spriggs | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Timothy Bateson | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | George Baker | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Hugh Bonneville | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Norman Jones | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Chris Webb | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Greg Powell | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jimmy Gardner | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | John Moreno | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Eva Alexander | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Vernon Dobtcheff | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Michael Moor | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Richard Trinder | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Lisa Osmond | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Diana Rigg | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | David Decio | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Catherine Schell | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Earl Cameron | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Paul Heasman | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Garrick Hagon | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Honor Blackman | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Timothy Dalton | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Stephen Hubay | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Francis De Wolff | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Daisy Haggard | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Bill Weston | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Christopher Whittingham | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Roger Lloyd Pack | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Jason Watkins | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Toby Jones | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Robert Jezek | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | David Tennant | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Elize du Toit | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Aileen Lewis | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Dennis Matsuki | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Anthony Ainley | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Bhasker Patel | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jim McManus | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Tom Chadbon | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Gbor Baraker | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Shane Rimmer | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Geoffrey Cheshire | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Albert Moses | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Huw Edwards | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Steven Berkoff | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Clifford Earl | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jan Williams | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Edward Underdown | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Nichola McAuliffe | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Clive Cazes | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Marc Boyle | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Kevin McNally | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Nina Young | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Peter Brace | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Philip Locke | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Colin Stinton | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Dinny Powell | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Leslie French | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Carl Rigg | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Nick Hobbs | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ronald Rich | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Alan Bond | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | George Pastell | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Paul Darrow | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Michael Osborne | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Brian Grellis | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ralph Morse | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Steve Plytas | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Alf Joint | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Bernard Horsfall | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Lasco Atkins | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Tobias Menzies | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ken Norris | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Shaun Lucas | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | John Abineri | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Paul Marc Davis | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Julian Seager | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Laurie Goode | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Tim Condren | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Sonny Caldinez | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jennifer Hill | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Gertan Klauber | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Terence Brook | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Vincent Wong | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Richard Cubison | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Dudley Jones | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Ray Marioni | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Andr Maranne | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | David Hankinson | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | David Ashton | (James Bond, Doctor Who) | | Jo Osmond | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Philip Rham | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Sean Cronin | (James Bond, Harry Potter) | | Adrian Rawlins | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) | | Terence Bayler | (Harry Potter, Doctor Who) |

I may have been a little hasty

I have argued many times that 3D movies are a complete waste of time and money, and that no movie can possibly make me want to go and pay an extra premium on top of the already high ticket price - not to mention an extra quid for a packet of ibuprofen - just to see it in 3D.

That was before they announced Jackass 3D...

Shakespeare and Language

There are a lot of classic authors, and lots of books and lots of movies of books. Some of these books are written by Shakespeare and some aren't. Yet for some reason every time an adaptation of a Shakespeare play is released, it has to remain faithful to the original in terms of dialogue, and no other author is extended this courtesy.

Some examples are quite extreme. Baz Luhrman's film version of Romeo and Juliet and Geoffrey Wright's adaptation of Macbeth are both modernised versions of their respective plays, changing many concepts to their modern day equivalent (eg Macbeth becomes a gang leader instead of king, and the Montagues and Capulets are rival business empires rather than feuding families). Despite this, the dialogue is taken directly from the original, which sounds more than a little odd, having people in familiar modern day settings talking like shakespearean characters.

Done, I think, much better is Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss' Sherlock, a modern re-telling of Arthur Conan-Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, interspersed with the odd original story. The first episode of the last series was a faithful modern adaptation of A Study in Scarlet, and the first two episodes of the upcoming series are based on A Scandal in Bohemia and The Hound of the Baskervilles. All are set in modern day England but the dialogue has been modernised with the setting. Yet the adaptation is very faithful to the original in terms of plot.

I'm on the fence in the usual book/movie adaptation argument - I appreciate that you sometimes need to change elements from books to make them work on screen. For example, I support Peter Jackson's decision to omit the entire 'Cleansing of the Shire' section from Return of the King because it would have spoiled the pacing of the movie. That said, sometimes things go a bit too far - many of movie adaptations of Roald Dahl books change things for no good reason and ruin the spirit of the original story (eg The Witches). I guess this is all a matter of opinion though, and therefore a slight digression from the point.

Basically: why is it that Shakespeare's language is immune from any kind of Hollywood meddling, even in a supposedly modernised adaptation, and that of other equally skilled wordsmiths (ie Tolkien) isn't? Shakespeare was indeed a literary genius, but he's hardly a special case and we need to stop treating him like one.

Thoughts on the Social Network

At the weekend, I watched The Social Network, the movie based on the creation of Facebook. Not sure how much of it is fictional and how much is genuine to true life, but it did re-affirm several things in my mind.

1. Facebook do more with your photos than they like to let on.
2. Harvard jocks are the worst kind of jock.
3. Hollywood will never produce a realistic depiction of England.
4. Mark Zuckerberg is an arsehole.

As a postscript, with the exception of Eduardo Saverin, who gets absolutely crapped on, and Erica Albright, the first person in the movie to tell Mark Zuckerberg he's an arsehole, by the end of the movie I hated every single character in it yet still quite enjoyed the film overall. I can't remember the last time that happened. Also, kudos is due for being reasonably technically accurate and not just spouting off reams of meaningless techno-babble like most movies do. Overall, I enjoyed the movie but probably won't watch it again.