The casting director who has cast three of the biggest James Bond stars in the franchise’s history is weighing in on the latest search.
If you’re a Brit, you’ll know we’re staring into the abyss as we try to pin down the new Doctor, a new Prime Minister and, of course, a brand new 007.
The quest to find the right person to inherit Daniel Craig’s licence to kill is well underway, with newly appointed casting director Nina Gold (known for her work on The Crown) leading the way for the next movie, set to be directed by Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve.
With Amazon taking creative control of the entire legendary IP, it truly is a new era for the MI6 agent, who was last on screens with the 2021 movie No Time to Die.
The casting process is fast heating up with the next round of auditions reportedly taking place in August. And there are already plenty of favourites, including Dua Lipa’s rising star husband Callum Turner, Oscar-nominated Jacob Elordi and Harris Dickinson, to name a few.
Making such a crucial decision, which will shape the future of James Bond forever, was never going to be an easy task. But there’s one person who understands exactly how heavy that burden is.
Former James Bond casting director Debbie McWilliams worked on 13 of the 25 Bond films that have come out over the past 60-plus years and was the mastermind who cast Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and our most recent man with a plan, Daniel.
With a wealth of expertise to her name, unfortunately, she has bad news for Callum and Jacob, both stars who have blown up in popularity in recent years.
‘It is absolutely essential that he retains a total enigma. I don’t want to see any of them as Bond because we now know so much about them,’ she told The Independent.
Expanding on her blunt verdict, she reasoned: ‘We want to know as little about them personally as possible, because that’s what spies are.
‘We don’t need to know where he goes shopping or who his parents are, or where he lives. We never want to see him at home.
‘And a vital element of the whole thing is his job description. He’s licensed to kill, and we have to believe that he can do that. If you don’t, then you’ve lost the audience.’
In fact she was drawn to casting Timothy and Pierce at the time as they were ‘under the radar’ actors, with Daniel slightly more established but still not a household name at the time of his casting.
She said of the next Bond, whoever it may be: ‘…That helps enormously, to see somebody who is completely out of the blue’.
Although she keeps schtum on the Bond hopefuls that almost got the gig, she also reflected on some of the more outlandish casting moments.
‘We went through a phase of the most ridiculous people getting in touch, like Michael Jackson. Madonna managed to creep in,’ she said, before coyly adding: ‘And oh, actually no, there’s somebody else who I couldn’t possibly tell you.’
As a favourite for the top spot, Masters of the Air star Callum addressed the speculation in a recent interview.
‘I know as much as you do – really, I know as much as you do,’ he told The Hollywood Reporter, adding when asked if he would take it: ‘I am not going to comment on that.’
He continued: ‘I will tell you what’s so funny about the Bond thing: Even your best friends ask you, people text you that you haven’t spoken to for 10 years – and you know nothing!
‘It is such a weird thing of something happening and nothing happening at all. I genuinely know nothing. I just find it quite amusing.’