Regé-Jean Page has spoken out about the persistent rumours linking him to the roles of James Bond and Black Panther, following his departure from the hit Netflix series Bridgerton. The 31-year-old actor, who played the Duke of Hastings, is among the bookmakers' favourites to succeed Daniel Craig as 007, and has also been tipped to take over the lead in the next Black Panther film after the death of Chadwick Boseman.
In an interview with Variety, Page addressed the speculation, saying: 'I spend a lot of time at the moment talking about what other people are saying about me, as opposed to anything I’m actually doing. I can’t talk about the B-word [James Bond], because I’ve got nothing to say on the B-word. I can’t talk about which jobs I’m not doing, because I’m not doing them, [but] I’m very happy with the work I am doing.'
He did, however, praise the Marvel Cinematic Universe, stating: 'I’ve been a huge fan of the types of movies that the MCU has been putting out, that have made it possible to do the kind of work I’m doing now, both directly and indirectly — with the Russos and with the genre that I’m working in with [Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley].'
Page also touched on a tweet he posted earlier this year, which many interpreted as a response to claims he was passed over for a role in the Superman spin-off Krypton due to his race. He said: 'I think I said what I had to say within the tweet…I decided a very long time ago that I would refuse to be defined by trauma and would only be defined by success, when and where it comes.'
The actor explained his decision to leave Bridgerton after just one season, describing his character Simon Basset as 'this bomb of a one-season antagonist, to be reformed and to find his true self through Daphne.' He added: 'I think one of the bravest things about the romance genre is allowing people a happy ending.'
