Taron Egerton has ruled himself out of the running for James Bond, saying the opportunity would be “wasted” on him.
The 35-year-old Welsh actor is known for his roles in spy movies such as Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014). Despite his past credits, however, Egerton does not believe he would be the right fit for the blockbuster franchise.
“I think I’m too messy for that. I think I’m not [the right fit]– I really love James Bond and particularly Daniel Craig’s tenure,” he told Collider.
“But I think I wouldn’t be good at it, and I think there’s so many cool, younger actors who would be great for it. I think it would be wasted on me, probably.”
Bullet Train star Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the rumoured favourite to take over from Craig as 007, with others including Idris Elba also reportedly in the running.
After Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve was named as the director of the new Amazon-MGM production, speculation has swirled that younger actors such as Tom Holland, Jacob Elordi, Harris Dickinson, and Timothée Chalamet are also being considered.
Speaking about his hesitance to take on such a huge franchise, Egerton explained that the role could be restrictive and “quite an undertaking” at this current stage of his career.
“As far as I’m aware, nobody’s asking me to do it,” he said. “But also, it’s possibly not quite the thing that would make me happiest. It kind of consumes your life, a role like that.”
Craig announced he would be retiring from the franchise in 2019, bowing out with 2021’s No Time To Die. The actor enjoyed the longest continuous reign as the special agent in the movie franchise based on novels by Ian Fleming.
Fleming’s story was first adapted for the big screen in 1962’s Dr No, starring Sean Connery.
Craig starred in five films, beginning with Casino Royale in 2006, and followed by Quantum of Solace in 2008, Skyfall in 2012, Spectre in 2015, and finally No Time To Die in 2021.
Asked by Variety which actor he would like to pass the James Bond torch to, Craig replied: “I don’t care.”
