Austin Butler reveals the one reason he would never play James Bond
Austin Butler has taken himself out of the running to play the next James Bond, but has suggested that he’d still love to be part of the beloved franchise in other ways.
Those at Amazon are hard at work attempting to find the next James Bond of our generation. Amazon purchased the rights to the franchise this year, spending $1 billion on the series and taking full creative control from the Broccoli family.
It was recently announced that Denis Villeneuve would direct the upcoming franchise, with Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, attached to write the script.
Butler has previously worked with Villeneuve on the Dune movies, and “loves” the idea of their reuniting. Naturally, Butler might be considered to take on the iconic British character, but he has revealed that that might not be such a “good idea” after all.
Speaking to Sam Thompson on the Hits Radio Breakfast Show, he said: “I love that man but no calls as far as James Bond goes but I don’t think that would be a good idea [for me to play Bond], I’m an American, I can do an accent but that would be kind of sacrilegious.”
The same remark had been made recently by Glen Powell: “I’m Texan. A Texan should not play James Bond,” the Anyone But You lead said. “My family and I joke around, I can play Jimmy Bond, but I should not be playing James Bond.”
Continuing his conversation with Thompson, Butler did muse, “Villain? That would be alright! I’d do that.”
Other actors who have taken themselves out of the potential line-up include Theo James, who found the idea “terrifying,” and Taron Egerton, who claimed that the opportunity would be “wasted” on him.
Butler will next star in Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller Caught Stealing, alongside Zoë Kravitz. Caught Stealing is released on August 29th, 2025.
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