Greta Gerwig names ‘Barbie’ star who should play the next James Bond
Kingsley Ben-Adir, who played Basketball Ken in box-office smash Barbie, is Greta Gerwig’s pick for the next James Bond.
While discussing her success of the film about the Mattel doll, she noted Ben-Adir’s traditional acting training. He attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama, whose notable alumni include Daniel Craig.
Taking to the Variety Award Circuit podcast, she recalled a scene where Ryan Gosling’s Ken ceremoniously gifts Ben-Adir’s Ken with a white fur jacket, which prompts a moving speech to the other Kens.
“He can do anything, and is a very proper, trained British actor,” Gerwig said, noting he could do an uncanny Laurence Olivier voice. “We had versions where he turned around, and it was British. When he turned around and did that voice – everybody on set, everybody’s jaw dropped.”
Gerwig continued: “He became this different person. I think the direction I gave to him, I said something like, ‘Ascend the throne,’ and he was like, ‘Got it’. And he turned around, and he ascended the throne. I was like, ‘Get this to whoever is making Bond, [they] need this immediately.'”
Ben-Adir’s name is one of many being thrown into the ring as Daniel Craig’s next successor. Aaron-Taylor Johnson has been tipped as the favourite, and it’s been speculated that Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, and James Norton have each been considered for the iconic James Bond role.
Famed Bond producer Barbara Broccoli told The Guardian they’d not even started the process of modernising the franchise, and the role would need to be “reinvented for the next chapter”.
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