Challengers Star Josh O’Connor Breaks Silence on James Bond Rumors

Actor Josh O’Connor has not heard anything directly from Eon Productions about playing James Bond, despite the increasingly feverish rumors. O’Connor hit the mainstream hard this year after starring in the romantic sports drama Challengers, and now everyone from fans to alleged insiders are saying that he might be the next Agent 007. In an interview with Deadline, O’Connor said he has not heard anything concrete about this idea, so it would be news to him. It’s worth noting that this is not the only James Bond casting rumor going around right now, and the part has been up for grabs for nearly four years now.

O’Connor seemed to blame himself for the proliferation of James Bond rumors, saying, “The truth is that … I think in the space of a week, I made a joke about, wouldn’t it be funny if I played Bond? Then, me and Daniel [Craig] did an Actors on Actors, and then something else happened, and then suddenly I was James Bond.” The actor said he has “no thoughts, really” about this viral story, concluding, “If I am Bond, I don’t know about it.”

To date, seven different actors have played James Bond in Eon’s 25 films about the character. All of them have been British, which rules out many A-list choices but keeps O’Connor in the running as he grew up in England. To many fans, it feels like the search for the next Bond has been endless since Daniel Craig said he was finished with the franchise after Spectre in 2015. The actor returned one last time for No Time to Die in 2021, and now there’s no telling who will take his place.

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Some of the other recent candidates include Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom hardy, Henry Cavill, Sam Heughan, and Regé-Jean Page. All fit the bill, though in the past the proposal for a non-white actor to play Bond has been met with vitriol online. Back in 2023, Idris Elba said he was “put off” from the idea of playing Bond based on the backlash online.

Then again, a recent report by The Wall Street Journal indicates that casting may not be the issue holding up the Bond franchise. Sources said that the Broccoli family, who run Eon and hold the film rights to the James Bond character, have been clashing with MGM’s new parent company Amazon. So far the companies have not commented on this alleged feud or what it might mean for the development of their next spy thriller.

In the meantime, O’Connor has plenty of other things to keep him busy, with the cowboy drama Rebuilding premiering at Sundance this weekend and five more upcoming movies listed on his IMDb page. Challengers is streaming now on Prime Video, for those that want to get a taste of O’Connor’s charm. The James Bond movies are scattered across several streaming services, but No Time to Die is not available with any subscription. It can only be digitally rented or purchased on PVOD stores like Prime Video, Apple TV or Fandango at Home.