Irish actor Anthony Boyle has spoken out about the possibility of playing the next James Bond. The Belfast-born star, known for his roles in Derry Girls, Shardlake, and Game of Thrones, made the comments while promoting his upcoming Netflix series House of Guinness.
Appearing on ITV's This Morning, Boyle and co-star Louis Partridge were quizzed by hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on whether they were throwing their hats into the ring for the iconic role. Boyle admitted, “We’re both trying to corner him any chance we can get,” referring to showrunner Steven Knight, who is writing the next Bond film.
He jokingly added that he would “show up in a three-piece suit” to the premiere to impress Knight, but acknowledged that neither he nor Partridge had attempted to glean any information about the project. Earlier, Boyle told Patrick Kielty, “A west Belfast Bond, that’s what we want to see, yeah, but I think I would do better as a villain.”
Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders, has remained tight-lipped about casting, saying he is approaching the script without a specific actor in mind. He told Radio Times: “I can't wait to get started. I'm hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me, and I will be able to produce something that's the same but different, and better, stronger, and bolder.”
Other names frequently linked to the role include Idris Elba, James Norton, Callum Turner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Henry Cavill. Boyle and Partridge star in House of Guinness, a period drama set to premiere on Netflix.
