Irish actor Barry Keoghan has ruled out becoming the next James Bond.
The Peaky Blinders star was among the list of household names mentioned to succeed Daniel Craig as 007, as speculation continues over who should take over the role. Others names include Keoghan's fellow Peaky Blinders star, Cillian Murphy, as well as Jacob Elordi, Callum Turner and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
"(James Bond is) an iconic role and a lot of weight and pressure comes with that", Keoghan told the Radio Times. "It’s nice to see your name go up there, but I don’t think I fit the criteria for James Bond".
He continued: "I’d rather come in and do the villain. The man teasing Bond, that’s more me".
News of this comes as the script for the next Bond film will be written by Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight. It will also be directed by Canadian filmmaker and four time Academy Award nominee, Denis Villeneuve.
A few weeks ago, Barry Keoghan shared the surprising way that he landed the role as Duke Shelby in the next Peaky Blinders movie. Find out more on this story here.
Earlier this month, it was also rumoured that singer Olivia Dean was to be named for the next James Bond theme, following her success at the Brit Awards, which saw her album, 'The Art Of Loving' won four awards at the Brits for Album of the Year, Song of the Year for her Sam Fender collaboration ‘Rein Me In‘, Artist of the Year and Best Pop Act. More on this here.
