A new, fresh-faced frontrunner has emerged in the hunt for Daniel Craig’s replacement as James Bond.
Lucien Laviscount is being tipped as a contender to take over as 007 after charming audiences in Netflix romantic comedy series Emily in Paris.
Laviscount plays Alfie – a playful, loveable British banker who catches the eye of marketing guru Emily, played by Lily Collins.
And along with the huge success of the show, he’s won over legions of fans – all swooning over his playful nature and good looks.
And according to sources, Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is also a big fan, and is said to be “very taken” with the young actor.
Fits the bill
Laviscount may very well be the answer to Bond’s casting woes, with producers having been on the hunt for a new 007 for the better part of the past five years.
He ticks all of the meticulous Broccoli’s boxes.
First, the new Bond has to be British, of course.
Next, at 30, Laviscount is young and fresh-faced. Broccoli said she’s after an actor that can commit to the film franchise for the next 15 years.
And another producer, Michael G Wilson, confirmed in October that the next person to play Bond would likely be in their 30s.
And, while not necessarily a part of Broccoli’s exact criteria, Laviscount is a man of colour.
Fans have long been calling for producers to bring some diversity to the franchise, with years of campaigning for Idris Elba to take the role.
But given Elba’s age (he turned 50 in September), it seems unlikely that they’ll get to see him as Bond.
There is only one factor that may work against Laviscount, and that’s his brief stint on reality television.
Laviscount, then at the very start of his acting career, entered the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother house back in 2011.
There, he got into all kinds of shenanigans, including flirting with and romancing his housemates on live TV.
A source told The Mail that that this could very well hamper his chances.
“But, there is a sticking point, and that is Big Brother. Lucien appeared on the show at a time when his acting career was not as high profile as it is now, but he was very popular then and has a fan base now which stretches generations,” they said.
“That is a dream for Barbara who is very taken with him.”
The other frontrunners
If Laviscount’s Bond ambitions fall through, producers have a long list of other contenders from which to choose.
Bookies say Tenet and Bullet Train actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has the best chances of being cast.
According to the latest Ladbrokes update from mid-December, the odds are in Taylor-Johnson’s favour, with punters betting 2-1 in his favour.
Adding to his chances, he’s rumoured to have already met Broccoli for a screen test in recent months – and reportedly impressed the eagle-eyed producer.
Hot on his heels is Superman actor Henry Cavill with odds of 5-2.
Cavill has been playing the American comic book character for the better part of the past decade, he is a Brit and at 39 years old, he narrowly satisfies the producers’ desired age bracket.
And with the news that he’s departing Netflix series The Witcher and will not be returning as Superman in any future DC projects, it sounds like his schedule is open.
Next with odds at 11-12 is Bridgerton actor Rege-Jean Page.
The brooding heart-throb first hit the mainstream in 2020 with season one of the period drama.
British actor James Norton’s name has also been spinning around the rumour mill, with punters setting odds at 7-1.
He may be little known in Australia, but he’s gained fame in the UK for his roles in crime dramas Happy Valley and McMafia, and also in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.
Like Page, he’s no stranger to spy roles, having played a fake MI5 agent in Rogue Agent.
But Norton may have blown his chances by mentioning the rumours back in 2020.
There’s a long-running theory that any actor that mentions the Bond films is instantly cursed and rubbishes their chances of being cast.
Speaking to Metro, he jested about how he could be the first diabetic 007.
“I’m a type-one diabetic. How cool would it be to have a diabetic Bond? It would be wonderful for all those diabetic kids out there to think even a type-one diabetic could be Bond,” he said.
“Other than that, I’d leave it to Daniel and the writers to carry on the legacy.”
No female frontrunners?
Although there’s a long list of dashing male frontrunners, some fans are wondering – and hoping – if they could see a female actor snag the role.
Among them is White Lotus actor Aubrey Plaza.
Plaza is clearly a fan of the action genre, having starred in indie-thriller Emily the Criminal, and more recently spy film Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre alongside action heavyweight Jason Statham.
Although Statham plays the James Bond-esque spy protagonist, Orson Fortune, Plaza says she channelled 007’s badass attitude to play his sidekick, Sarah Fidel.
“Statham is playing like a Bond character, but my approach was like, I’m the female Bond. And if I’m the female Bond, what does Bond do? Bond gets the girl. Bond is objectifying everybody and also being a badass,” she told GW.
“So I objectified Statham the whole time. Literally slapping his butt. I think they were all scared of me. Like, ‘Who is this girl who’s coming in so hot?’”
Plaza said she also hopes her new project will inspire Bond producers to consider casting a female actor in the iconic role.
Well, it turns out it was Broccoli that said Bond couldn’t be a woman.
“I think it will be a man because I don’t think a woman should play James Bond,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021.
“I believe in making characters for women and not just having women play men’s roles.
“I don’t think there are enough great roles for women, and it’s very important to me that we make movies for women about women.”
