Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, who played the secret agent four times from 1995’s Goldeneye to 2002’s Die Another Day, has endorsed Inception and Legend actor Tom Hardy as a suitable candidate to take on the 007 role.
Daniel Craig is about to begin work on his fifth and final outing in the role with Danny Boyle set to helm the project. Speculation will no doubt continue for years as to who will replace him, but Brosnan threw out Hardy’s name for the possibility whilst doing press rounds for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and was asked about the possibility of a woman taking on the role.
He tells The Daily Mail:
“Bond is Bond and you can’t change that. I think a woman could play Bond but it wouldn’t be James Bond. Daniel Craig has been an incredible Bond. He’s very physical, he looks lethal. You genuinely believe this is someone who could kill a man.
He’s complained about doing the part because he’s put himself through a lot physically, but he will do the next movie, and then I think Tom Hardy could be a good Bond. I’d be happy to see him do it. You need an actor who can put a bit of wiggle into it, that’s what makes Bond.”
The main issue with Hardy’s casting is age, the actor is currently 40 which means should he be cast he wouldn’t begin shooting until he’s 42 or 43 at the earliest. On the flipside director Christopher Nolan has expressed interest in doing the first non-Craig Bond and he and Hardy have worked well together in the past.
For now, the producers aren’t looking to the next Bond until after the release of Craig’s final film which is due out late 2019.
