Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù speaks out on James Bond rumours: 'It's the pinnacle of action roles'
The Mothering Sunday and Gangs of London star has been rising up the bookies' odds.
With the release of No Time to Die, Daniel Craig has played James Bond for the last time – and now everyone is wondering who his successor as 007 might be.
Asked whether he’d be interested in the role, Gangs of London star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù smiles – it’s clearly not the first time the idea has been put to him. (At time of writing, Dìrísù is currently 16/1 odds to star as the secret agent next.)
"That question is going around a lot more recently, because No Time to Die has just come out," he told RadioTimes.com while promoting new film Mothering Sunday. "[It] is an excellent film, I was really fortunate to get to go to the premiere of it, it was such a grand occasion.
"I really enjoy the rough and tumble of action sequences, and I try to do all of my own stunts. I think that the role of James Bond – wow – is the pinnacle of those things, you know?"
"I think Barbara [Broccoli, series producer] and everybody at EON are constantly striving to keep [Bond] at the forefront of that genre,” he continued.
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"I have no idea if they'll come to me with that, but I want to continue to put myself in a position and do the work that would make them consider me – but also work that I'm proud of, that engages me and engages audiences. If it was Bond… then we'll see when we get there."
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Bond isn’t the only character the actor has expressed an interest in – earlier this year, in an interview with Esquire, Dìrísù said he wants to “create what is ostensibly a Black Indiana Jones, and sprinkle in some real lost African history into those films.” Are there any other characters he’d be interested in playing, or genres he’d be interested in working in?
"I love discovering new things," he said. "I did The Huntsman: Winter’s War. That was quite fantasy, and I enjoyed the taste of that – I'd love to do more fantasy stuff. I suppose the closest I’ve come to sci-fi would be Humans or Black Mirror – but neither of those were in space!
“There are loads of films that I saw growing up that I'd love to taste the world of. I loved Lord of the Rings growing up, that'd be great fun. There's this really excellent anime series that my friend introduced me to called Attack on Titan – that is quite grounded in Earth, but there's a hyperrealistic aspect to it with these like giant humanoid creatures called Titans.
“I would love to do sci fi stories, romance stories, fantasy stories, you know, I want to tell all the stories under the sun – stories that make me smile like this are the ones I want to tell. I'm sure there are thousands of them out there. I’m looking forward to finding more!”
- Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù reveals why Mothering Sunday was an opportunity to "flex a different muscle"
- Gangs of London's Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù on filming season 2 in a pandemic, season 3 plans
Mothering Sunday is out in UK cinemas on 12th November – visit our Movies hub for more news and features, or find something to watch with our TV Guide.
