French actor and comedian Michël Youn may still be in the race for a role in Casino Royale. In an interview with Belgish newspaper "La Dernière Heure", he confirmed that he has been screentested for a villain role.

Michael Youn

"I have been screentested", he says. "They found me fitting for the part, because the person I would have to play is a little crazy. It’s a villain who is a bit like the "Joker" in Batman, but more serious. Of the 500 actors who have been screentested worldwide, I made it among the final 5, and I’m very proud of it…" he pauses for a moment as if he was biting his tongue for having revealed too much and adds "…even if I don’t make it into the movie."

Youn has been rumoured before to have screentested for a villain role in Casino Royale. It was never quite clear wether it was for Le Chiffre himself or maybe a secondary villain. After it was reported that French actor Simon Abkarian has been casted for the role of "Demetrius", it was taken as fact that Youn was out. But French media have already speculated that Abkarian and Youn had been tested for different roles, given their different ages and physics (Youn is 31, Abkarian is 43 years old), so it looks like a confirmation for that.

Michaël Youn ist one of France’s best known comedians. He started his career as a radio DJ, then was dicovered for TV and became host of the popular "M6 Morning Fun". In the last few years, he was sucessfully involved in a number of comedy music and movie projects. His last movie role was the title role in "Iznogoud", an adaption of the classic French comic.

Casino Royale is the 21st James Bond film produced by franchise holders Eon Productions. The MGM/Columbia Pictures production begins shooting in January and is due for release worldwide on 17 November 2006. Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, it will be filmed in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy and the UK.

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