Now that Daniel Craig has made known that he’s “done” playing James Bond, the fictional British superspy, British bookmakers made actor Tom Hiddleston the favourite to take on the role.
Daniel Craig, who has played Bond in 4 films since 2005, had turned down an offer of £68 million for 2 more. He is reported to have been paid a total of £38million for the films in the franchise he has starred in – “Spectre“, “Skyfall”, “Quantum of Solace”, and “Casino Royale”.
The 48-year-old actor was contracted to do a 5th film but last year said he would rather slash his wrists than play 007 again.
“If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”
The Daily Mail, citing an anonymous LA film source, said Daniel Craig had told executives at MGM Studios that last year’s movie Spectre was his last outing as 007.
“Daniel is done, pure and simple, he told top brass at MGM after Spectre. They threw huge amounts of money at him, but it just wasn’t what he wanted,” the source said.
Bookmakers William Hill and Ladbrokes both had 35-year-old Tom Hiddleston, who appeared in “Thor” and recently starred in BBC spy drama “The Night Manager” which is now showing in the US, as the most likely new Bond.
“We have seen Damian Lewis, Idris Elba and Tom Hardy all occupy the top of the betting at various stages of the last 12 months but it would seem that Tom Hiddleston is in pole position at the right time,” a spokesman said.
On top of that, Tom has been very vocal about his interest in playing the secret service agent.
He previously told Britain’s The Sunday Times that he’s a huge fan of the Bond franchise. “I simply love the theme tune, the tropes and the mythology. I love the whole thing. If it ever came knocking, it would be an extraordinary opportunity. And I’m very aware of the physicality of the job. I would not take it lightly,” he said.
Not convinced? How about this: Earlier this week, Tom was reportedly spotted meeting with Bond movie director Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli. Now, what else could they be meeting for if Tom wasn’t a frontrunner for the job?
Meanwhile, other actors that are currently fan favourites to play the next James Bond are:
- Aidan Turner (“The Hobbit” trilogy)
- Idris Elba (“Prometheus”, “Pacific Rim”, “Thor: The Dark World”)
- Tom Hardy (“Black Hawk Down”, “Inception”)
- Damian Lewis (“The Escapist”)
- Michael Fassbender (“300”, “X-Men: First Class”, “12 Years a Slave”, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, “X-Men: Apocalypse“)
- Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel”, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice“)
- Oliver Jackson-Cohen (“The Raven”, “Despite the Falling Snow”)
- Sam Worthington (“Avatar”, “Clash of the Titans”, “Everest“)
MGM has yet to comment on the above news. But keep checking back with us for updates 😉
Sources: AFP, The Telegraph, Time Out / Featured image: wallpapersdsc.net.
