Pierce Brosnan, Cillian Murphy. Getty Images (2)
Former 007 Pierce Brosnan recently weighed in on the debate about who should take over the iconic tuxedo and martini glass as the next James Bond.
At the Oscar Wilde Awards on Thursday, March 7, in Los Angeles, the 70-year-old actor told the BBC that Cillian Murphy “would do a magnificent job as James Bond on His Majesty’s Secret Service.”
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Murphy, 47, also attended the event honoring Irish creatives, but he disagreed with Brosnan’s opinion, telling Variety he’s “a bit old for that.”
Brosnan, who played the iconic secret service agent four times from 1995 to 2002, changed his mind from when he was last asked who should take up the mantle after Daniel Craig.
Cillian Murphy Through the Years: A Look at the Irish Actor’s Career
“Who should do it? I don’t care,” he told GQ in a 2022 interview. “It’ll be interesting to see who they get, who the man shall be. Whoever he be, I wish him well.”
Brosnan acknowledged that he did see “the last one,” referring to 2021’s No Time To Die. “And I saw Skyfall. I love Skyfall,” he added. “I’m not too sure about the last one.”
Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has stated that the filmmakers aren’t considering any actor until “the dust has settled” on Craig’s time with the franchise. Craig, 56, assumed the role for 15 years, beginning with Casino Royale in 2006.
“James Bond can be of any color, but he is male,” Broccoli told Variety in 2020. “I believe we should be creating new characters for women — strong female characters. I’m not particularly interested in taking a male character and having a woman play it. I think women are far more interesting than that.”
Stars Who Have Played James Bond Over the Years
Nonetheless, rumors have swirled about who is in the running. Murphy, who received a 2024 Oscar nomination for his role in Oppenheimer, is the latest in a long list of potential candidates. Regé-Jean Page, Daniel Kaluuya, Sam Heughan, Idris Elba, Henry Cavill, Richard Madden, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Tom Hardy — among others — have been mentioned to possibly continue Bond’s legacy.
Cavill, 40, told Men’s Health in 2019 that he “would love to play Bond,” adding, “It would be very, very exciting.”
Before Murphy, Brosnan thought Hardy, 46, would fit perfectly into the suit. “I think Tom Hardy could be a good Bond. I’d be happy to see him do it,” the Mamma Mia actor told the Daily Mail in 2018. “You need an actor who can put a bit of wiggle into it — that’s what makes Bond.”
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