New James Bond Will Be 30-Something ‘Relatively Unknown’ Man, & We Have Suggestions

Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift broke up specifically because he's relatively unknown. Kieran Culkin has some free time. We know Devin Booker has the athleticism...

By Kylie Cheung | April 14, 2023 | 7:00pm

Entertainment Movies

The hunt is apparently on for the new James Bond who will take up the mantle from Daniel Craig, and I feel like a peasant in Camelot waiting to see who will pull the Excalibur out of the rock, or whatever happened there. Speaking to the Radio Times this week, long-time James Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams gave some insights and specifications around what the franchise is looking for in its new it-boy. And all of it sounds... fairly manageable. The top lines are: man roughly in his thirties and not yet megafamous. OK!

“We did look at a lot of younger actors, and I just don’t think they had the gravitas,” McWilliams said “They didn’t have the experience, they didn’t have the mental capacity to take it on, because it’s not just the part they’re taking on, it’s a massive responsibility.”

If they’re looking for someone a little older, seems like Timothee Chalamet (27) and Paul Mescal (26) aren’t quite making the cut. And if they’re looking for someone in his 30s, Succession odd-ball Jeremy Strong (44) sadly isn’t, either. McWilliams also emphasized that actors playing James Bond have always started out being relatively unknown, so my condolences to Sebastian Stan.

All of this narrows the playing field a bit, but we’ve still got some ideas. Join us as Jez predicts the next 007...

Joe Alwynn

Apparently, a big factor in the great national divorce that is Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift’s break-up was his inability to handle her magnitude of fame after they weathered the pandemic together and his preference for a quieter, more private life. In other words, beyond being Mr. Taylor Swift, Alwyn is, by his own measure, a bit of a nobody. And he’s 32! Let’s get him on the phone with Debbie McWilliams, stat.

Manny Jacinto

Manny Jacinto is so much more than The Good Place’s resident himbo; he’s also very hot, and it kills me that he hasn’t gotten his big break-out role yet. The man is 35, tall, beautiful, kills in a suit, has proven his acting chops, and would be the first Asian James Bond, which seems pretty cool! It’s a yes from me.

Regé-Jean Page

This one is so obvious, I genuinely apologize for my basicness in even suggesting it. But just look at Regé-Jean Page (ahem, age 34) and tell me you don’t feel the spirit of James Bond hovering in the room right next to you.

Brett Goldstein

I, personally, would like to nominate pretty much every actor in Ted Lasso’s woefully hot cast for the role, but if I had to choose one, it would be Brett Goldstein. Just picture it: this guy in the all-black dress shirt and pants look that is effectively his uniform on Ted Lasso, driving some nauseatingly sexy sports car, being chased up a mountain by an army of henchmen. I would be seated for it.

Henry Golding

I mean, he’s a good-looking guy, what else do you want me to say? At 36, Golding is mature enough, but not so mature that he’ll be using a cane for his 17th James Bond movie. And despite drawing a lot of eyeballs for Crazy Rich Asians and A Simple Favor (co-starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick) a few years ago, he hasn’t been in anything super recent. I say, book him!

Chris Pratt

Just kidding! No <3

Jeremy Allen White

When I was first considering who I would put on this list, Timothee Chalamet immediately came to mind, until I realized he fit approximately zero (0) items on McWilliam’s checklist. And then, thinking of Chalamet made me think of The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, lovingly dubbed “the working man’s Timothee Chalamet” by the internet. Like... I see it! A short, sturdy king who—unlike all the other pretty boys who have been cast in this role—looks like he’s been in an actual fist-fight or two.

Lukas Gage

The You and Euphoria star is pretty much all Gen Z can talk about these days. And, yes, he’s on the younger side (27), but considering much of this franchise’s fan base consists of dudes about my dad’s age (62), I don’t think it would hurt to hit the refresh button on things. I think we’re also long overdue for an openly queer man taking on this role!

William Jackson Harper

Yes, I am nominating another Good Place alum. Yes, that show was all I watched from 2016 to 2020. Its leading gentlemen have been utterly slept on in the years since the show’s finale, and there’s no excuse for it—not when this man could be our next James Bond.

This random Twitter user

If an Everyman is what the casting gods want, then might I recommend this one dude-slash-apparent former Jeopardy! contestant? I think we could use a James Bond with an uncanny gift for trivia.

Elliot Page

He looks excellent in a suit. He is very cool. He has action genre credentials, thanks to Umbrella Academy and X-Men. Sure, he’s pissed off armies of right-wingers for merely existing, but other than that, he’s stayed fairly private and underground. Your first trans James Bond, ladies and gents!

Penn Badgley

Sure, I think most of the English-speaking world knows this man as either Gossip Girl’s “Lonely Boy” or a serial-killing hottie on You. But as he emphasized throughout You Season 4's press tour earlier this year, he’s looking for a new kind of role, one that allows him to be more than some sappy leading man in a YA romance. And, honestly, I just really see him as Bond. Only caveat is... things do get pretty steamy between 007 and his Bond girls, and as Badgley has expressed on numerous occasions, that’s a boundary he’s not trying to cross these days.

Kieran Culkin

OK, fine, he’s 40, but he’s also Kieran Culkin. A short king and a sassy one, he would absolutely kill as Bond, fighting off Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox as billionaire Bond villains and making one devastating joke after another every step of the way.

Devin Booker

If you’ve been following my work on Jezebel dot com for long enough, you can’t possibly be surprised by the inclusion of this slide. Allow me to make my case for my no. 1 NBA husband: 1) tall, 2) handsome, 3) have you seen him in a suit? 4) or, for that matter, in a beautiful shiny sports car?? and 5) he is very athletic!! I bet he could do his own stunts!! Sure, there’s the small problem of “he has zero acting experience,” but those who actively watch the NBA know it’s 97% theater—faking that you were hurt to get to the free throw line, pretending to feud and get into fights with other players to boost ratings, etc. Devin’s got all of that down pat. Someone needs to get me on the phone with Debbie McWilliams immediately.

Jonathan Bailey

The Bridgerton Season 2 break-out star unbelievably managed to make the show’s second season hornier than its first (quite a feat!), thanks to his suave, cool-under-pressure demeanor. This man was practically made in a lab to be James Bond. And, like Lukas Gage, Bailey is also openly LBGTQ—no more boring straight James Bonds in 2023, pls.

Michael B. Jordan

Few have heard of the little-known, indie star known as “Michael B. Jordan.” In fact, this is the first that I, personally, am hearing of him! OK, fine. Fine. He’s a fucking mega-star. But tell me you don’t see the vision...

Trevor Noah

Sure, Trevor Noah is fairly on the map, especially among the nerds (myself included) who religiously followed his Daily Show tenure. But I think we could use a funny James Bond—much-needed representation for funny communities!—and Noah has fittingly told a fair amount of Bond jokes, particularly musing about why the franchise has never cast a Black Bond. Let’s fix that!!

Liam Payne

The self-identified former front-man of One Direction is reportedly hurting for a role to give him relevance these days—so much so that he’s even actively seeking out a 1D reunion, lately. Sure, he won’t hit 30 until next year, but... why not indulge him, considering he’d be 30 by the time the film came out? I imagine he has bills to pay, and I’ve never seen a star come alive like a new actor, teetering on unemployment days before rent is due.

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)

A man of international mystery and intrigue... no one knows who he really is... he has a gift for inventing and reinventing himself... he’s infiltrated the U.S. government... Face it: Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.)—with his penchant for lying, deceiving, wearing costumes, pretending to be a bunch of things he is not, and generally just acting—would make for a pretty compelling James Bond, no?