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One thing is clear: there is no way Daniel Craig is coming back as 007 unless he is somehow reassembled from all the pieces scattered across the seas around the Faroe Islands. The race among hopeful Bond actors is hotting up with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson expected to make announcements this year. We already know the age, gender and race of the actor they are looking for, which has knocked some high-flying front-runners out of contention. The news affects both Henry Cavill and Tom Hardy with one Happy Valley star perfectly poised to swoop in.
Broccoli publicly stated the next Bond would be a British actor and male. It was also reported that production company EON was only looking for male actors who were under 40 years of age and over 5’10 in height. The actor would have to be suitable to suit up for a projected ten years in the role.
Cavill is a strapping 6 feet tall but he will be 40 this year in May. With production of the new Bond reboot very unlikely to begin before next year, it looks like he is ageing out of the race. Tom Hardy, meanwhile, seems scuppered as the Venom star will turn 46 in September.
Eyes are turning to Happy Valley hunk James Norton, who is an impressive 6’1 and still only 37. And UK Bookies told Express Online they are confident about his chances.
Ladbrokes Alex Apati said: “Punters are starting to think the name could be Norton… James Norton, and we’ve slashed the Happy Valley star’s odds as a result.”
The bookies have Norton down to 5/1, moving past Bridgerton’s Rege-Jean Page on 6/1 and comfortably ahead of Tom Hardy on 8/1. Fantastic Beats’ Callum Turner is neck and neck with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gangs of London star Sope Dirisu, all currently at 12/1.
Only two men lie ahead of Norton, who is once again causing misery and mayhem as Tommy Lee Royce in the BBC crime drama.eople still refer to it. It shows you can do the versatility, so I owe it everything. I love it.”
Cavill is still holding on at the top on 2/1 next to a much more recent hopeful. Aaron Taylor-Johnson exploded up the rankings after a series of reports that he had recently met with Broccoli and Wilson and “impressed” the Bond producers.
After famously playing mild-mannered vicar Sidney Chambers in ITV’s Grantchester, Norton has already showed his thriller mettle in McMafia and Happy Valley can only improve his chances, as the actor himself admits.
Norton said of the gritty role: “To be able to let rip in that way and be vicious is on one hand kind of horrible because it’s sort of counter to what your instincts are, but there’s another part – like head-butting a security guard in that cemetery and feeling pretty hard – was kinda great.”
Norton also hailed his role as Tommy and Happy Valley, saying he owed it “everything” and it was a “gift”.
The star added: “To understand someone like Tommy from an empathetic point of view is just the greatest beauty of what do [as actors]. It’s lovely. You’re required to find that empathy and it’s a different type of learning from just reading about psychopathy. But generally people, we love the fringes of humanity. We love the sort of subversive stuff. It’s fascinating.”
“It allowed me to play someone completely different and people still refer to it. It shows you can do the versatility, so I owe it everything. I love it.”
