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James Bond Frontrunner Breaks Silence on Casting Rumors

Jack Lowden’s co-star Gary Oldman revealed he was allegedly shortlisted for the role.

Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is playing coy about the rumors that he could be the next James Bond.

In an interview with British GQ, Lowden was asked about the story, which his Slow Horses co-star, Gary Oldman, 68, seemed to confirm in September. Oldman caused a stir when he told Canada’s The Morning Show, “It’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist. We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.”

“Oh, Christ,” Lowden, 36, told British GQ when asked about the comments. “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,” Lowden said. “It’s very nice, and Gary’s a sweetheart — it’s particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don’t really listen to it.”

Oldman’s comment still seemed plausible when the Sep. 15 press release for an upcoming season of Slow Horses didn’t name Lowden.

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The series’ streamer, Apple TV, announced in a statement that the season will focus on Oldman’s character, Jackson Lamb, and Kristin Scott Thomas’s character, Diana Taverner, rather than Lowden’s River Cartwright.

Lowden’s subsequent sighting in London, filming rooftop scenes with co-star Olivia Cooke after the finale, cooled speculation somewhat. Lowden said he would not confirm one way or the other. He suggested the rumor grew because he wore a suit.

“As a young male actor, generally, the minute you’re not playing a zany artist type, the minute you’re in a suit, people fling it at you,” he told the magazine.

Sources told Deadline that the final screen tests for the next actor to play 007 began last month.

In March of 2022, Lowden said he was sad to see Daniel Craig be replaced in the franchise. Craig played Bond from 2005 to 2021 and starred in five official films. When asked whether he was up for the role, Lowden told Entertainment Weekly at the time, “Not as far as I know.”

“No, it’s still Daniel Craig in my eyes,” he said then. “I still find it a very strange thing to accept that. I’m still in the stage of grief. I think he should still be playing him, to be honest. But they’ve got a very difficult job on their hands [to replace him], certainly.”

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Eboni Boykin-PattersonEntertainment Reporter

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