8 period drama stars who could be the next James Bond
Who will replace Daniel Craig as the new 007?
Having played the secret agent since 2006, the 54-year-old English actor went out with a bang in his final James Bond movie last year.
Inevitably there has been much talk about who might be announced as his replacement.
Bookies around the world never seem to stop taking bets on who the lucky actor will be.
With the franchise celebrating its 60th anniversary this October, we’ve gone through the candidates named as possibilities by the London-based bookmaker William Hill and picked out eight British period drama stars who could be picking up the Aston Martin keys.
James Norton
The London-born 37-year-old actor is best known to period drama fans for his roles in Grantchester, War & Peace and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Having filmed his final scenes as vicar Sidney Chambers for Grantchester a few years ago, Norton went on to prove that he can pull off Bond’s tuxedo look very well in the BBC’s McMafia in 2019.
Sam Heughan
Born in New Galloway, the 42-year-old Scottish actor is best known for playing Jamie Fraser in Outlander.
Heughan played a British spy to perfection in 2018’s comedy-action movie The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Aidan Turner
Born in Dublin, the 39-year-old Irish actor has had starring roles in Poldark, The Hobbit and And Then There Were None.
Turner hasn’t played a spy before, but certainly has plenty of experience doing fight scenes in the BBC’s Poldark and recently embraced his dark side in ITV’s psychological thriller The Suspect.
Regé-Jean Page
The London-born 34-year-old star shot to fame in 2020 as heartthrob Simon Basset in hit period drama Bridgerton.
When he made the shock decision to quit the series after its first season, bookmakers were quick to question whether the actor had his eyes on another iconic role: 007.
Page entered the spy world earlier this year in Netflix’s thriller The Gray Man.
Dan Stevens
The 39-year-old English actor from Croydon near London is best known for playing Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, before starring in The Man Who Invented Christmas and Beauty & the Beast.
Stevens lead the cast of FX’s popular X-Men TV series Legion from 2017-2019, and demonstrated his action credentials playing a former army Sergeant in 2014’s The Guest.
Tom Hughes
Born in Chester, the 37-year-old English actor will be familiar to period drama fans from Dancing on the Edge and The Lady Vanishes, but is best known as Prince Albert in ITV’s Victoria series.
Hughes starred as a young MI5 operative in 1970s-set Cold War drama series The Game in 2014.
David Oyelowo
The 46-year-old English actor from Oxford is best known for his leading roles in A United Kingdom, Selma and Small Island.
He returned to the small screen in 2018, starring as Javert in the BBC’s new Les Misérables adaptation.
Oyelowo previously played a spy in British drama series Spooks, as MI5 officer Danny Hunter from 2002-2004.
Matthew Goode
Born in Exeter, Devon, the 44-year-old actor is a period drama regular, having appeared in Downton Abbey, The Crown and Birdsong.
He reprised the character of Henry Talbot in 2019’s first Downton movie, although was absent in this year’s follow-up.
Goode’s spy acting experience includes playing Bletchley Park cryptanalyst Hugh Alexander in The Imitation Game.
The complete James Bond collection box set is available on DVD on Amazon.