As Speculation about Next Bond Grows, Here’s How Some Actors Have Responded to Casting Rumors

Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson gestures as he poses for the media before the news conference to promote his latest movie "Bullet Train" in Seoul, South Korea on Aug. 19, 2022. (AP)
Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson gestures as he poses for the media before the news conference to promote his latest movie "Bullet Train" in Seoul, South Korea on Aug. 19, 2022. (AP)
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As Speculation about Next Bond Grows, Here’s How Some Actors Have Responded to Casting Rumors

Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson gestures as he poses for the media before the news conference to promote his latest movie "Bullet Train" in Seoul, South Korea on Aug. 19, 2022. (AP)
Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson gestures as he poses for the media before the news conference to promote his latest movie "Bullet Train" in Seoul, South Korea on Aug. 19, 2022. (AP)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the latest actor reportedly offered a license to kill and succeed Daniel Craig as the new James Bond.

The “Kick-Ass” star is no stranger to action movies and at 33 is a good age to join the franchise, as producers likely want a 10-year commitment to the role.

Since Craig announced that he was hanging up his tuxedo after five outings as 007 — the last being “No Time to Die” in 2021 — there has been frenzied speculation over which actor will take the coveted role.

Bond producers have not commented on the Taylor-Johnson rumors.

Speculating about the next Bond is a frequent subject (sometimes even before the job is available), leading British actors to adopt various strategies and responses when the topic comes up.

One of the foremost names in the frame over the past few years has been Idris Elba, though producer Barbara Broccoli said in 2022 that the “Luther” star had ruled himself out.

“He apparently has said he’s out,” she told The Associated Press. “We love Idris and he’s been a wonderful friend and we love him as an actor. But I think he feels like a, you know, 10- or 12-year commitment or 15-year commitment might be a bit too much for him.”

“You know, it’s a rumor that’s stuck with me,” Elba said in 2023. “I think I’m the most famous ‘Bond’ actor that never actually played the part. So, what can I say? I’ll take that.”

Elba has high profile fans including Matt Damon. “I think he’s brilliant. I’ll watch him in anything and he makes everything he’s in better and he would make that franchise better.”

“Inception” and “Dunkirk” star Tom Hardy was touted as the next Bond back in 2015, though he claimed to have “heard nothing” about press speculation.

“I think answering something like that means immediately you’re out of the running. So there goes my spot,” he joked.

Luke Evans, who has starred in a wide variety of movies and TV series from “The Hobbit” to “Beauty and the Beast” to “Nine Perfect Strangers,” felt his dream of playing Bond has slipped away.

“By the time they cast it again, I’ll be too old,” the 44-year-old actor told The Associated Press in 2022.

Richard Madden brushed off rumors about his involvement in Bond at a press conference for “Rocket Man” in Cannes back in 2019.

“It’s very flattering to be involved in that conversation at all. But it’s all just talk and I’m sure next week you’ll be someone different,” he laughed.

Other names connected with the role in recent years include Regé-Jean Page, who shot to fame in “Bridgerton” as the Duke of Hastings, Theo James, who earned an Emmy nomination for his role in “The White Lotus,” and Henry Golding, star of “Crazy Rich Asians.”

Every time Golding has appeared on a red carpet wearing a tuxedo, rumors swirl about him being the next 007, but he remains tight-lipped.



Judge Weighs Request to Withhold Investigation Records in Deaths of Gene Hackman and Wife

Gene Hackman poses during the 60th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, January 19, 2003. (Reuters)
Gene Hackman poses during the 60th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, January 19, 2003. (Reuters)
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Judge Weighs Request to Withhold Investigation Records in Deaths of Gene Hackman and Wife

Gene Hackman poses during the 60th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, January 19, 2003. (Reuters)
Gene Hackman poses during the 60th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, US, January 19, 2003. (Reuters)

A New Mexico court is weighing whether to block the disclosure of an array of records from an investigation into the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at the request of the couple’s estate.

Santa Fe-based Judge Matthew Wilson scheduled a hearing Monday to consider a request from estate representative Julia Peters to seal photos, video and documents to protect the family’s constitutional right to privacy. The court put a temporary hold on the release of records pending the hearing.

The partially mummified remains of Hackman and Arakawa were found in their Santa Fe home on Feb. 26, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police. Authorities have confirmed Hackman, 95, died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease about a week after his wife's death. Hackman may have been unaware Arakawa, 65, was dead.

Her cause of death was listed as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a rare, rodent-borne disease.

New Mexico’s open records law blocks public access to sensitive images, including depictions of dead bodies. Experts also say some medical information is not considered public record under the state Inspection of Public Records Act.

Peters has emphasized the possibly shocking nature of photographs and video in the investigation and potential for their dissemination by media in the bid to block them from being released.

The Hackman family estate's lawsuit also seeks to block the release of autopsy reports by the Office of the Medical Investigator and death investigation reports by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

The bulk of death investigations by law enforcement and autopsy reports by medical investigators are typically considered public records under state law in the spirit of ensuring government transparency and accountability.

Authorities unraveled the mysterious circumstances of the couple's deaths and described their conclusions at a March 7 news conference without releasing most related written and photographic records.

One of the couple’s three dogs, a kelpie mix named Zinna, also was found dead in a crate in a bathroom closet near Arakawa. Two other dogs survived.

The written request to seal the records notes the couple placed “a significant value on their privacy and took affirmative vigilant steps” to safeguard it during their lives, including after they moved to Santa Fe and Hackman retired. The state capital is known as a refuge for celebrities, artists and authors.

Arakawa had no children, while Hackman is survived by three children from a previous marriage. Privacy likely also will play a role as the couple’s estate is settled. According to probate court documents, Hackman signed an updated will in 2005 leaving his estate to his wife, while the will she signed that same year directed her estate to him. With both of them dying, management of the estate is in Peters' hands.

A request is pending to appoint a trustee to administer assets in two trusts associated with the estate. Without trust documents being made public, it’s unclear who the beneficiaries are and how the assets will be divided.

Attorneys who specialize in estate planning in New Mexico say it’s possible more details could come out if there were any legal disputes over the assets. Even then, they said, the parties likely would ask the court to seal the documents.