Kristin Scott Thomas shares verdict on Slow Horses co-star Jack Lowden as next Bond - The Independent

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Jack Lowden has been tipped as a leading candidate to succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond, with Callum Turner and Josh O'Connor also believed to be in contention.

Kristin Scott Thomas, who stars alongside Lowden in the Apple TV detective drama Slow Horses, has given her verdict on the rumours linking him to the role of 007.

She told The Times in a new interview: “Oh God, I wish I knew. He’d be very, very good.

“He’s got that twinkle, he’s cheeky and he’s a very, very good actor.”

Craig took over as Bond with Casino Royale in 2006.

He played the spy five times, bowing out after No Time to Die in 2021.

Lowden addressed the rumours himself in a recent interview with GQ Hype, though he neither confirmed nor denied being part of the auditioning process.

He said: “On this… it’s all very flattering. It’s nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I’m just not really going to add to the noise.”

The Scottish actor was reported to have screen tested for the role in London in October, alongside Turner and O’Connor.

Amy Pascal, who will produce the next Bond film, told Deadline earlier this year about casting: “I would say (an announcement by) the end of the year is a good bet.

“We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with (producer) Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow.

“And it’s got to be something really different that is stirring, exciting and different.”

Speaking to The Independent earlier this year about the process, retired casting director Debbie McWilliams – who helped put Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig in Bond’s shoes over the years – said that “it is absolutely essential that [Bond] retains a total enigma,” adding: “We want to know as little about them personally as possible, because that’s what spies are.

“We don’t need to know where he goes shopping or who his parents are, or where he lives … He’s licensed to kill, and we have to believe that he can do that. If you don’t, then you’ve lost the audience.”

Actor Ben Whishaw, who played gadget-maker Q alongside Daniel Craig’s Bond, said in an interview this past weekend that he believes the franchise “needs to be reinvented completely”.

The next Bond film does not yet have a title.

It will be directed by Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, with Harry Potter producer David Heyman working alongside Pascal on the project.