Pierce Brosnan has given his opinion on who should play James Bond in the future, citing Tom Hardy and Idris Elba as good fits for the role.
The actor played the iconic fictional spy between 1995 and 2002, appearing in the films GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
Speaking to People, Brosnan said it was sometimes “wearisome” to always be asked on who should step into the role next. However, he went on to share who he would pick to succeed Daniel Craig.
“Idris Elba comes to mind,” he said. “Idris is such a powerful presence and such a great former voice tensity. He would be magnificent. There’s Tom Hardy out there as well. Tom can really chew the furniture up, just be a ball boy – both men can.”
Brosnan added: “And I think now that Daniel has left such an indelible footprint, they can go in many different ways. But your guess is as good as mine, who’s going to be the next Bond. There’s no other franchise like it. Nothing.”
It’s not the first time the veteran actor has picked Hardy as a future Bond star. In 2018, Brosnan said he would be “happy” to see the Taboo star take on the role.
Earlier this year, Elba spoke about the continuing rumours that he was being lined up to play the spy. “I know the rumours about Bond have always chased me,” he said. “Listen, my poor mum is like ‘One day you’re going to get it!’ I was like ‘Mum, I’m good, I’ve got Luther!’ I’m definitely doing that.”
In 2019, he also addressed the difficulties that would come with being the first Black actor to play Bond. “You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be’,” he said. “And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin.
“Then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the colour of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to.”
Craig will make his last appearance as 007 in the much-delayed No Time To Die. After being postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic, the film is currently scheduled to be released on September 30 in the UK.
