Harris, who played Moneypenny in three James Bond movies, also hints at her future in the franchise
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Naomie Harris, who played Moneypenny in three James Bond movies, is sounding off on stars who could potentially play the spy next.
Ever since Daniel Craig retired from the role in 2021 after appearing in five of the franchise’s films, speculation has run rampant about who will star as the unstoppable British agent.
Among the names floated by fans online: Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page, 37, who costars with Harris, 48, in her new movie Black Bag.
“I think he’d make a great Bond,” she says. “He’s very suave, very sophisticated, very intelligent. And then he also has that twinkle in his eye. It’s needed.”
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She also notes that in Black Bag, Page — who also plays a spy in the espionage thriller from Steven Soderbergh — does a few of his own stunts. “He’s very capable of that as well. So I think he’s got everything that he needs,” she adds.
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Harris calls Tom Hardy, another potential contender, “an upright guy” and “such a phenomenal actor,” adding “I love that idea” of him playing Bond. The pair shared the screen in 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
As for Aaron Taylor-Johnson? “I really like him as a person as well as an actor,” says Harris, who adds that among people on the internet, he seems to be “a favorite at the moment.”
But Harris is quick to point out that she isn’t sure any of these actors will ultimately headline the series.
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“People always bandied these names about, and then it’s never any of the names that they talk about because it’s always someone much more obscure that we haven’t heard of,” she says. “And that’s how the Bond franchise seems to like it. So I think we’re all going to be wrong.”
As for her own future in the franchise? “If they want me, I’m in,” she says. “I don’t know what they’re doing. I don’t know whether they’re going to continue the story or whether they’re going to start all over again with a whole bunch of people. I have no idea at all.”
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“I think even if I was 90 or something, I would still want to be part of the franchise. I love it so much and it’s because it genuinely is a family,” adds Harris.