Saoirse Ronan has added fuel to the fire over speculation that her husband Jack Lowden has been cast as James Bond, insisting the subject never comes up at home.
The 32-year-old Lady Bird and Little Women star was asked what it is like living with constant rumours about the Slow Horses actor, 36, who is among the frontrunners for the role alongside Callum Turner and Harris Dickinson.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Ronan said Gary Oldman ‘thinks he’s James Bond, which is its own thing’.
She added: ‘We’re kind of getting on with our life, to be honest. We have plenty of other things to be dealing with. So, yeah, it’s not really a subject that’s coming up in our house, to be honest.
‘The dog needs to be walked, the dinner needs to be made — we’re most focused on that.’
Oldman’s Hint and Knight’s Non-Answer
Oldman, who plays Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, recently told Canada’s Global that ‘it’s been rumoured he’s on the shortlist’.
‘We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack,’ he said.
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who is writing the next James Bond film, appeared to back up Oldman’s claim during an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Asked whether a casting decision had been made, Knight laughed and replied: ‘I cannot speak about this subject. Much as I would dearly love to.’
He joked that taking on Ian Fleming’s famous spy franchise for Amazon MGM Studios meant he was ‘doing my duty for King and country’.
Presenter Anna Foster pressed him further, asking: ‘Presumably you know who it is when you’re writing it. Does that make a difference?’
Knight replied: ‘It does make life a little bit easier if you know who that person is, but also you have to write the character, not the actor.’
Foster tried again, asking whether Knight knew who had been cast before he started writing or halfway through the process. Knight laughed again and said: ‘I refer you to my previous answer.’
Odds and Contenders
The latest bookies’ odds put Lowden, also known for roles in Dunkirk, BBC miniseries War & Peace and Mary Queen of Scots, as the top bet so far.
Ladbrokes has other big names in the mix, including The Capture and Masters of the Air star Callum Turner, The Iron Claw’s Harris Dickinson, 28 Years Later and Skins icon Jack O’Connell, The Crown and Challengers’ Josh O’Connor and This City Is Ours star James Nelson-Joyce.
It is not yet known when Amazon will release the name of the new super-spy, but fans are hoping for an update before Christmas.
