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Josh O’Connor has said he’s flattered to be considered in the running to be the next James Bond, but declined to confirm or deny any speculation.
The 36-year-old Disclosure Day star is reportedly in contention to play 007, along with Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and a mysterious fourth actor.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, O’Connor was asked to comment on the rumors while opening a new Everyman Theatre in his hometown of Cheltenham, England.
O’Connor responded that “to be considered in that same sort of bracket is extraordinary,” and went on to say that reading the reports had been “such an incredibly bizarre pinch me moment… even being uttered in that same sentence and being considered for something like that.”
However, he added: “But I am afraid, there is nothing to say beyond that.”
Earlier this week, Slow Horses star Lowden also addressed the persistent rumors that he’s in the running.
Lowden’s co-star Gary Oldman claimed in an interview in September that the Bond role had been cast – and that he was hoping Lowden gets it.
In a new interview with GQ, Lowden addressed Oldman’s comments.
“On this… It’s all very flattering. It’s nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I’m just not really going to add to the noise,” he explained. “It’s very nice, and Gary’s a sweetheart – it’s particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don’t really listen to it.”
Lowden then discussed what it means to be perpetually linked to a role like James Bond – as well as downplaying its significance.
“As a young male actor, generally, the minute you’re not playing a zany artist type, the minute you’re in a suit, people fling it at you,” he said.
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Speaking to The Independent earlier this year about the process, retired casting director Debbie McWilliams – who helped put Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig in Bond’s shoes over the years – said that “it is absolutely essential that [Bond] retains a total enigma,” adding: “We want to know as little about them personally as possible, because that’s what spies are.
“We don’t need to know where he goes shopping or who his parents are, or where he lives … He’s licensed to kill, and we have to believe that he can do that. If you don’t, then you’ve lost the audience.”
Actor Ben Whishaw, who played gadget-maker Q alongside Daniel Craig’s Bond, said in an interview this weekend that he believes the franchise “needs to be reinvented completely.”
The new Bond film, to be directed by Dune’s Denis Villeneuve, follows Daniel Craig’s final outing as Bond in No Time To Die, which was released in October 2021 after being delayed by the pandemic.
Amazon made a controversial purchase of the franchise’s long-time backers at MGM Studios in January 2025, taking control of the much-loved series.