James Bond is one of the roles which actors the world would love to play. The British secret agent has become a movie icon over his 57-year-long history on the silver screen, and it doesn't look like he's going to slow down any time soon. Daniel Craig is currently the man blessed with the privilege of playing 007. However, that won't last forever, and it's looking pretty likely that his next Bond film, Bond 25, will be his last.
So, the question remains: who will be the next man to step into the secret agent's shoes, and which actors should most definitely not play the world's most famous spy? Here are a few names you should and shouldn't consider.
Shouldn't Play Bond: Eddie Redmayne
Eddie Redmayne's name hasn't come up much in the Bond-actor discussion and nor should it. The Oscar-winning actor is currently rather busy playing Newt Scamander in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, however, with him being British, young, fashionable and unconventionally good-looking, it's pretty certain that his name has come up in studio executives meetings whilst discussion who they should cast as the next James Bond once Craig calls it quits.
Redmayne is an Oscar-winner and has shown his talents in many other films, yet he doesn't have the right build or the right 'aura' to play the special agent. He doesn't quite have the right physique for the role either, which would be a problem for audiences.
Should Play Bond: Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill is easily one of the most underrated actors working in Hollywood today. He's shown time and time again how captivating he is on screen, and yet he still seems to receive abuse for his role as Superman in the DC Comics films. He's arguably the best actor ever cast as Superman, and he looks great in the part, he's just been given poor dialogue to work with, and they've resulted in some pretty average comic book movies. However, if you were to take his work as a whole, it quickly becomes evident that Cavill is an acting force to be reconned with.
He can practically do anything. Action, comedy, romance... You name it, Cavill's done it all, and out of everyone in this list, he's the only actor I'd genuinely believe would be able to kill as many people as Bond does in his movies.
There's also the fact that he was almost cast as Bond before Craig was, yet the producers felt he was still a bit too young and inexperienced to play the lead in this upcoming Bond movies.
Give the man Bond, and audiences will see what Cavill is truly capable of. You just need to look at his brilliant turn in the likes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E (in which he's literally playing Bond if he were in the CIA), and Mission: Impossible - Fallout. He's excellent in both those films and would be the perfect fit for Bond. As they say, if the suit fits... And the suit does fit on Cavill, and it fits nicely.
Shouldn't Play Bond: Justin Hartley
Justin Hartley's name has come up quite a lot recently in relation to being the next Bond. The actor is well-known for his work on the small screen. However, he has yet to be given a big role on the big screen. Hartley has been in TV shows such as Smallville, Revenge and most recently This Is Us.
However, it sounds as if some of the producers being Bond have been suggesting his name, despite his lack of action movie experience. Added to this is the fact that he's from America and remains to be seen whether he can do a truly convincing British accent. An American has yet to play 007, and should he really be considered as the next Bond, that would be the main sticking point for many fans of the franchise.
Should Play Bond: Riz Ahmed
Riz Ahmed is easy one of the best British actors working on Hollywood today. He's a chameleon, in the sense that he can play any role. He proved that he could play a villain in the Venom movie, for instance. He did action in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and his most recent film, The Sisters Brothers, sees him show another side to his acting ability. The man can do everything, so why not give him Bond?
He certainly wants the role, has the accent down to a T, and he'll look good in a tux. Hopefully, the producers will be looking at him closely once Craig steps down from the role.
Shouldn't Play Bond: Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom was reportedly in the running to play Bond before Craig was announced. Thank God that never happened because Bloom would have been awful as Bond. A lot of other British actors were considered, yet Bloom was one of the frontrunners, and he's just so wrong for the part.
You may like Bloom, and that's totally fine, yet he lacks the gravitas the role requires, and he's never shown that he has the right tools in his acting arsenal to play the secret agent. Hopefully, the producers learned from their previous mistakes and keep the likes of Orlando Bloom out of the running to be the next James Bond.
Should Play Bond: Tom Hardy
Everybody loves Tom Hardy, and that's impressive because he spends most of his movies with his face hidden behind a mask. Tom has everything you'd ever want in a good Bond actor. He has the looks, he can be suave, yet he also has that brutal, untamed nature to his character which would work so perfectly for this new modern interpretation of Bond. Today's Bond is very different to that of Sean Connery and Roger Moore.
Craig brought in a darker side to Bond, which would really need to expand upon the upcoming films. Tom is the person to do that. If you were to give him Bond, it's almost certain that you'd end up with one of the most fascinating and watchable screen iterations of 007. I'm just finding it hard to work out why they haven't contacted him yet.
Shouldn't Play Bond: Benedict Cumberbatch
No way should Benedict Cumberbatch ever get to play Bond. He represents everything that Bond is against, and much like some of the previous names in this list has never shown how good he is with a gun, good at hand-to-hand combat. Cumberbatch, however, would be the perfect man to play the villain in an upcoming movie, and that would be much more interesting to watch.
Cumberbatch is a great actor, and we know thanks to the Marvel movies, that he's very capable of leading an action movie and he looks good in all the films' set pieces. However, Bond is a rather different beast. All eyes would be focused on him. And it's also unclear whether he even wants to play the character.
Should Play Bond: Richard Madden
Richard Madden first came to many people's attention as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. However, he then went on to wow audiences the world over in the BBC hit drama, Bodyguard, in which he played Police Sergeant David Budd, a heroic British Army war veteran dealing with PTSD, who is assigned to protect the ambitious Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes).
Madden's depiction of Budd brought to mind a more rough Bond, with slightly frayed edges. A Bond who's seen the terrors of war and is then thrown back into society and is angered by what he sees. It would be a very dark and depressing Bond, yet the perfect film for the 21st Century.
However, Madden showed that he could also do pretty much anything with Bond, and he's also Scottish, which would be a nice touch. Not since Connery has a Scott played Bond, and it would be nice to get one back after all these years. He is one of the frontrunners for the role, even though he denies it every time he speaks.
Shouldn't Play Bond: Tom Hiddleston
The Benedict Cumberbatch case applies very much with that of Tom Hiddleston. Much like Cumberbatch, Hiddleston would make an excellent Bond villain, yet it would be a bit of a stretch to see him as 007. That said, he showed what he could do as Bond in the hit TV series, The Night Manager.
However, he lacks the physicality needed for the role, and even though Bond is meant to be quite a well-spoken British spy, Hiddleston is just a bit too posh to play Bond. He'd have to tone it down slightly, but it's not certain if he could.
Should Play Bond: Luke Evans
Luke Evans is Bond. There's no better choice than the Welsh actor. Evans was already one of the actors the studio executives had in mind to replace Craig, yet Evans was seemingly hesitant to step into Craige's boots.
He told Screen Rant: "I think it would be an honor, but it's a big job stepping into the boots of someone like Daniel Craig who was brought on [and] elevated him to a level which has never been."
He finished off by saying: "It wouldn't be an easy thing to take over that role, although it is a fantastic character." This does seem to suggest that Evans might consider Bond to be too big a franchise to become part of, yet the fans were very accepting of Craig was Casino Royale came out despite being dead against him, to begin with. So, all Evans has to worry about is whether the film is good or not.
He is, in our eyes, the best choice for the role since he has everything you want in a good Bond actor. The looks, the charisma, the action-star pedigree, the love of the role, the right attitude and it would be nice to see another Welsh actor play the role after Timothy Dalton.