The actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is rumored to be playing James Bond
After years of conjecture, according to the British tabloid The Sun, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, a former child actor best known for his roles in big-budget films, has reportedly received a formal offer to replace Daniel Craig as the renowned British spy James Bond.
The Highlights
*English actor Taylor-Johnson, 33, is perhaps best known for his leading role in the 2010 film “Kick-Ass” and its 2013 follow-up, “Kick-Ass 2.”
*In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he also portrayed Pietro Maximoff in the 2015 blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” He is scheduled to make a return to the MCU in the next film “Kraven the Hunter,” where he will play the title role.
*Taylor-Johnson’s performance in Tom Ford’s suspense thriller “Nocturnal Animals” earned him the 2017 Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor.
*He started acting when he was six years old, appearing in several movies as a kid, such as “The Illusionist” (2006) and “Shanghai Knights” (2003).
*He has acted in several high-grossing, high-budget movies, such as Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” (2020), “Godzilla” (2014), and “Bullet Train” (2022).
*Taylor-Johnson called the fans’ desire for him to play Bond “charming and wonderful,” calling it “a great compliment,” in an interview with Numéro last week.
*Eon Productions has been contacted by Forbes for a response.
According to a Tuesday story in The Sun, Taylor-Johnson is expected to accept the Bond role and sign a contract this week. The Sun was informed by a source that “Bond is Aaron’s job, should he wish to accept it.”
The Background
Before Taylor-Johnson’s casting, the James Bond film franchise lasted almost 60 years and featured six actors. Eon Productions has released 25 films in the brand’s history, while two other firms have produced two films. In 1962, Sean Connery made his debut as James Bond in the first Bond movie, “Dr. No,” becoming the first actor to play the spy. The greatest number of Bond film appearances by any actor is seven, shared by Connery and Roger Moore. The other actors who have portrayed the legendary part are Pierce Brosnan, Craig, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton. Craig’s stint, which spanned five films from 2006 to 2021, was the most recent. The James Bond films are usually hits at the box office: the franchise’s highest earner, “Skyfall” (2012), brought in over $1.1 billion globally, and every film released this century has brought in at least $400 million.
The Fact
Idris Elba, a British actor, was reportedly one of the top candidates to play James Bond for years. However, he claimed that some of his critics “made the whole thing ugly and off-putting, since it became about race.” The speculations were flattering to Elba, who would have been the first Black actor to portray James Bond, but he told the Wall Street Journal in 2022 that he doesn’t see James Bond when he looks in the mirror.