Pierce Brosnan makes his pick for the perfect James Bond: “So impressive”
Ever since Daniel Craig finally stepped away from the James Bond franchise after years of threatening to do so, the discourse over who would fill 007’s shoes has been constant. The iconic character has been played by six actors (seven if you want to count David Niven in that non-Eon 1967 spoof), and every time one of them has left the role, it’s led to months and years of frenzied debate.
At first, Idris Elba seemed like the frontrunner, but he took himself out of contention, saying that he couldn’t see himself in the role. Since then, numerous names have been floated, mostly white British male actors. Tom Holland, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Harris Dickinson, and Josh O’Connor have all topped the betting charts at some point or another, as has Tom Hardy. Some have even speculated that Pierce Brosnan, who played 007 for a decade in four movies, might be coming back to play an older, wiser version of the character.
Although Brosnan refused to rule out the possibility when asked, he did take the opportunity to endorse another option. In an interview with Jonathan Ross, the actor was asked about Taylor-Johnson as a potential 007, and he had nothing but praise for him. “I think he would make a very fine Bond,” Brosnan said. “He was actually in one of the movies I made called The Greatist – a lovely film, actually – and he was so impressive then. He just had this charisma. He had this presence. And yeah, he would be good.”
Taylor-Johnson certainly has suaveness on his side. He also has experience with major franchises. The British actor might not be a household name, but he’s starred in plenty of blockbusters, including the Avengers franchise, the Kraven series, and, on the other end of the spectrum, Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu.
He is also, crucially, not one of the contenders who has recently been announced as a cast member in Sam Mendes’s upcoming Beatles movies, which would presumably rule them out for Bond. Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, and Barry Keoghan are much less likely to remain on the list of possibilities now that they’re tied up in another major cinema event in which casting has been contentious and extremely high-profile.
While Brosnan was happy to throw his support behind Taylor-Johnson, he was also quick to add that there are many excellent actors out there who could do an admirable job. And yes, that’s very diplomatic of him, but it would be nice for someone to put their thumb on the scales. Taylor-Johnson is currently the frontrunner according to betting markets, and he also looks like one of the most available. Unlike Dickinson, he only has one film that is not yet in post-production, and it’s currently being filmed. That means his schedule is wide open for the next Bond instalment.
Theo James, another frontrunner, also looks like he might be positioning himself for the role. He has only one film left on his schedule that is yet to be filmed, Kim Jee-Woon’s thriller The Hole. Coincidentally, he and Taylor-Johnson recently wrapped up the upcoming action movie Fuze about the discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb. If the next Bond hasn’t been announced by the time that film is released, it may serve as an unofficial audition for both of them.
