Aidan Turner, best known for playing Ross Poldark in the BBC series Poldark has seen his odds slashed to 7-1 in the race to play the next James Bond. The man who made scything sexy in that gardening scene is now fifth favourite behind Rege-Jean Page, Henry Cavill and Michael Fassbender, sitting at 7-1 alongside Idris Elba.
He has even overtaken previous favourite Tom Hardy this week. The new ranking also puts Turner ahead of previous frontrunners Lashana Lynch (10-1) and Jamie Dornan (12-1).
Turner rose to fame after playing vampire John Mitchell on supernatural drama Being Human and dwarf Kili in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy between 2012 and 2014. Poldark was a TV adaptation of novels set in Cornwall, of the same title by Winston Graham.
The series tells the story of Captain Ross Vennor Poldark’s return from the War of Independence and his subsequent romantic and family aspirations. Most recently, Turner has starred as Leonardo da Vinci in historical drama Leonardo, which recounted the artists’ incredible life and followed his artistic journey.
Speculation has been rife as to who’ll play the next James Bond, following Daniel Craig’s departure from the series after No Time to Die last year. Turner was first linked with the role late last year after fans touted his ‘brooding’ appearance as ideal for portraying the suave superspy.
It was his turn as gardener with a scythe that saw Turner being catapulted to heart-throb status. His scything scene has been likened to top pulse-racing, literary scenes such as Mr Darcy emerging from the lake in the BBC 1995 mini-series adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Despite disregarding the rumours, fans aren’t convinced that the Irish actor is completely off the table. Turner has teased fans by saying that if the position to play Bond was free "he’d have a look at it".
This suggests that now might be the time he steps into Craig’s coveted role. Alongside Aidan as the leading Irish picks in the market are German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender (5-1), Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy (12-1), Jamie Dornan (12-1), Gerard Butler (50-1) and Umbrella Academy actor Robert Sheehan (50-1).
Speaking about the odds, a William Hill spokesperson said: “Although Aidan Turner has previously been linked with the role, he’s remained a relatively unknown selection alongside the likes of Rege-Jean Page, Idris Elba and previous favourite Tom Hardy. However, there’s no denying a recent surge in interest.
"And with the Irish actor’s CV suggesting he’s more than capable of taking on the role, it remains to be seen whether we’ll see another Irish 007 on the silver screen!” The full list of hot favourites to play Bond can be found here.
Current frontrunners to play Bond are as follows.
- Rege-Jean Page (5-2)
- Henry Cavill (7-2)
- Michael Fassbender (5-1)
- Idris Elba (7-1)
- Aidan Turner (7-1)
- James Norton (7-1)
