My first thought during my initial viewing of Ruben Ostlund‘s The Square was “hmmm, the lead actor is appealing. He has a low-key Pierce Brosnan sexy thing going on, and those thin red designer glasses he’s wearing are very cool.” His name, I quickly discovered, is Claes Bang, a Danish actor and musician. Right away I thought, “He could be the new 007”, but that notion was kicked around and dismissed fairly quickly. Bang is 50, or 13 years younger than Brosnan, but perhaps not quite young enough if you figure that Daniel Craig is around for one more film.

But he has this quality, this vibe. I’d definitely like to see him in more stuff. So would Tatyana.

Not long ago CB came to town, and so I asked to meet him. We sat down for 25 minutes inside the West Hollywood offices of Sunshine Sachs. His name, he told me, is pronounced “Clayhs Bahng.” Not synonymous with “dead bang” but at the same time not “buhng.” He was (and presumably still is) open, matter-of-fact, attuned. And yet reserved, measured. However you want to define X-factor…

Who has seen The Square, and what was your opinion? 5:35 pm update: That many, huh? Well, it’s easily one of the best films of the year. Your loss.