cunning or clownish?

Empire reveals that Ken Branagh joins the cast of MI:3, solidfying the bizarre truth that successful Shakespearean British actors always cave into Hollywood-produced action films against their better judgement. (Okay, mostly against their better judgement. Ian McKellen has been doing very well for himself, and manages to do justice to the "Sir" with his villianously urbane mutant character Eric Lensherr/Magneto. But really, Ben Kingsley... Thunderbirds ??)

An excerpt:

...but given that this is an American action film he will either be playing a bumbling fool or a cunning villain – and having played the clown in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets our money is on criminal mastermind this time.

How true. (God help me, I thought he was bloody fantastic as Gilderoy Lockhart. I'm already counting down to went they adapt OotP so that I can see him again...) Isn't that rather sad that it's one or the other, and not some bizarre third option? Well, here's to hoping that it's a performance worthy of Jeremy Irons a la DH3. (hmmm... British villians and trequels... there might be something in that...) ;)