Licence to spill: Richard Osman 'lets slip' next James Bond actor
Idris Elba, Callum Turner and James Norton had been linked but a lesser-known name has been tipped by Richard Osman on The Rest is Entertainment
Richard Osman has claimed to have been told by an insider that the next actor to play James Bond will be Slow Horses star Jack Lowden.
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The former Pointless co-host shared on his The Rest is Entertainment podcast on Tuesday that he had been tipped off about the identity of the next 007.
“Someone told me for definite who the new Bond is the other day, but I mean that’s happened before," Osman told his co-host Marina Hyde, "The name I’ve heard is Jack Lowden."
Amazon MGM Studios has announced Denis Villeneuve will direct a new James Bond outing, but no actor has been named to replace Daniel Craig - who signed off after No Time to Die in 2021.
Previously, Callum Turner was considered the “red hot” favourite to take on the prized role, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson, James Norton and Theo James were also one-time frontrunners.
No Time to Die marked the conclusion of MGM’s complete control over the franchise, with Amazon having bought the production company in a huge deal that was announced last February.
Since then, no details have emerged about the future of the Bond series despite Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos tweeting, “Who’d you pick as the next Bond?” on the day of the announcement.
Lowden is a lesser-known name, but the 36-year-old has been seen in films such as Tornado, The Outrun, Mary Queen of Scots, and Dunkirk.
Osman, who has written cosy murder mystery novels since leaving Pointless, added: “It is definitely not a ‘he’s definitely got it’ thing. He is definitely being strongly considered. I think he'd be amazing.”
The spin off series 007: Road to a Million was released to poor reviews in 2023, and fans have shared concerns about the over-franchising of the Bond universe.
Piers Brosnan said at the point of takeover: “I hope that (Amazon) handles the work and the character with dignity and imagination and respect."
Since Craig’s departure, there have been endless rumours about who could be the next actor to don the tuxedo, with one or two British names often at the fore.
Here is the most recent round-up of those claimed to be in contention.
Who could play the next James Bond?
Callum Turner
The British actor's odds have shortened after his starring role in Eternity alongside Elizabeth Olsen.
The 36-year-old is married to pop star Dua Lipa and has also starres in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, and Emma.
Coral’s John Hill said: “We’ve been knocked over with support for Callum Turner in our next James Bond betting."
Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Last March, The Sun claimed to have insight that the British actor had been lined up as the next Bond - although this has not been confirmed by either side.
“I can only really talk about the things I’m going to show and tell,” Taylor-Johnson told Rolling Stone about the rumours linking him to the part.
“I don’t feel like I need to have a future drawn out for me. I feel like: whatever’s drawn out for me, I can f*****g do better.”
Theo James
The star of Netflix series The Gentlemen has become a favourite to play Bond according to more reports made in The Sun over last weekend.
The 41-year-old also starred in The White Lotus and is now the favourite of bookmaker Ladbrokes to land the role of 007.
James performed his own stunts as Four in the Divergent series of films which is a prerequisite for a Bond actor these days.
Henry Cavill
Another long-term bookies’ favourite, British actor Cavill is best known for playing Superman in the Man of Steel films.
His role as a suave spy in Guy Ritchie’s 2015 film The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is the best indication that he could get the role, the Daily Record has stated.
The 43-year-old Brit has also starred in spy thrillers Argylle and Mission Impossible: Fallout.
James Norton
Another British actor who has taken an unconventional route to the big leagues and has made his name by starring in BBC dramas such as Grantchester and Happy Valley.
On the big screen he has starred in a spy thriller once before in Rogue Agent alongside Gemma Arterton.
Jack Lowden
The 36-year-old has quietly put together quite the CV, with turns in Dunkirk, Mary Queen of Scots, and Benediction.
He remains an outside choice but he does at least meet Brosnan’s benchmark of being British!
Brosnan set out this requirement, despite being Irish himself.
Idris Elba
Once a favourite, now more or less out of the race. Elba has pedigree for crime dramas and thrillers - having starred in Layer Cake and Luther.
However, now aged 53 he considers himself “too ancient” to play the action lead.
On Radio X, he told Chris Moyles: “The rumour has definitely been done. And I mean, I’m ancient now. I don’t know what kind of Bond I’d be.”
Even at 53, however, he would be far younger than Roger Moore in A View to a Kill, who played the role at 57.
A female James Bond?
A curveball suggestion to play Bond has been Sydney Sweeney.
Paul Feig, who directed her in The Housemaid, said: "She's one of the hardest-working people I know, so professional, so smart, so savvy. I think she’d be a good spy."
Halle Berry, who was the sidekick to Brosnan’s Bond in Die Another Day, has said that she is not sure she wants to see a woman play the character.
“I don’t know if 007 should be a woman,” she told Variety.
She added that she would have loved to play her character Jinx in a spin off but this never materialised as MGM guarded the series. Maybe in the Amazon era such a film or TV series would not be mission impossible.
Daniel Craig has also poured cold water on the idea of a female Bond.
