Once upon a time, Damian Lewis was a serious contender to be the next James Bond. It was 2015, and the former Homeland star was creeping up in the ranks with bookies, quickly surpassing longtime front-runner Idris Elba as well as mainstays Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender. But that was then! Now former Game of Thrones star Richard Madden has become the betting favorite to take over when current 007 Daniel Craig finally passes the torch, while No Time to Die star Lashana Lynch has also become a serious contender. Thankfully, though, this makes no difference to Lewis, as he’s decided he no longer wants the part.
“To be honest, it’s subsided,” he said of his desire to play the role in a new interview with GQ. “And I don’t want to play James Bond anymore. If someone had asked me 10 years ago, that might have been a different matter. But I don’t have that sort of ambition now. I don’t want to go traveling off around the world for eight months of the year and play one character for the next 10 years.”
If he had stepped into Bond’s Aston Martin, Lewis noted, he’d “be the oldest new James Bond cast, maybe after Roger Moore. Or maybe even older than Roger Moore. ” Lewis is currently 49. Moore was 45 when he was cast in his first Bond film, 1973’s Live and Let Die.
“So, you know, I don’t think it’s a problem,” Lewis continued. “I don’t think it’s something I have to think about.”
Craig is still the current reigning Bond, with his final film, No Time to Die, set to hit theaters in November (after having been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic). Madden became a favorite for the part after starring in the 2018 miniseries Bodyguard, a BBC action series that was a ratings hit in the U.K. Madden has played down the casting rumors, however, saying this whole circus is just par for the course. “This is what happens with all these shows, like Tom Hiddleston in The Night Manager,” Madden told British GQ. “Then there’s the next one. I’m the next one. Everyone just loves the rumor mill on that topic. I’m just the current one. There’ll be a different one next week.”
Meanwhile, there have also been rumors that No Time to Die’s Lynch could wind up being the next 007. Her character, Nomi, is introduced in the film’s trailer as a new 00 spy who easily holds her own against Bond. Lynch hasn’t confirmed the rumors, but she has spoken about what she hopes to bring to the role. “When you’re dealing with a franchise that has been slick for so many years, I wanted to throw a human spin on it—to deal with anxiety and be someone who’s figuring it out, completely on her toes,” she told Vanity Fair.
Lewis has similarly downplayed the casting rumors before, saying in 2019 that “by the time they finally finish making the next Bond [film], I’ll be old, decrepit.”
“But on the other hand, from a diversity point of view, don’t you think it’s about time we had a ginger Bond?” he added at the time. Well...better luck next time, gingers.
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