{"id":298837,"date":"2026-02-15T04:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T04:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/298837\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T04:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T04:30:09","slug":"iconic-bond-girl-maryam-dabo-vows-007-must-be-a-white-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/298837\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Bond girl Maryam d’Abo vows 007 MUST be a white man"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former Bond girl has declared that 007 must be a white man.<\/p>\n

Maryam d’Abo, who starred in The Living Daylights in 1987, shared her views on casting Daniel Craig’s replacement.<\/p>\n

When asked about the possibility of a black actor taking the role, she said: “Then don’t call it Bond. Call it something else. You can have a wonderful black hero, but then don’t call him James Bond.”<\/p>\n

The 65-year-old actress believes the franchise should stay true to its literary origins.<\/p>\n

“Personally, I would respect Ian Fleming’s books and keep James Bond being English and working for His Majesty’s Secret Service,” she explained.<\/p>\n

D’Abo portrayed Kara Milovy, a cellist with connections to the KGB, in the 1987 film.<\/p>\n

She starred alongside Timothy Dalton, now 79, who played the spy in that instalment.<\/p>\n

The actress grew up in France and Switzerland before taking on the role.<\/p>\n

\"Maryam<\/p>\n

Maryam d’Abo starred alongside Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights in 1987<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

In the film, Bond spares Milovy during an operation at a Bratislava concert hall, later returning to find her and posing as a KGB agent before seducing her.<\/p>\n

And though she shut the door to a black actor, d’Abo remains open to a foreign Bond.<\/p>\n

She expressed support for “that wonderful Australian guy, Jacob Elordi<\/a>” potentially taking the role, adding: “He is Australian, but so what?”<\/p>\n

Several black British actors have emerged as potential candidates for the iconic role.<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/p>\n

Daniel Craig’s successor is still yet to be announced – but Maryam d’Abo ruled out a black Bond<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

\"Jacob<\/p>\n

Maryam d’Abo said ‘wonderful Australian guy’ Jacob Elordi should be handed a Licence to Kill<\/p>\n

| GETTY<\/p>\n

Aaron Pierre, 31, is considered a strong contender after voicing Mufasa in the recent Lion King film.<\/p>\n

The London-born performer has Jamaican, Sierra Leonean and Curacaoan heritage.<\/p>\n

Idris Elba was once the leading favourite to succeed Craig, but at 53, he may be too old for producers seeking a younger star.<\/p>\n

Callum Turner and Aaron Taylor-Johnson<\/a>, both 35, are among the current frontrunners.<\/p>\n

Turner is said to have told his inner circle that he has secured the part.<\/p>\n

His fiancee Dua Lipa, meanwhile, is said to be keen on recording the accompanying theme song.<\/p>\n

\"Aaron<\/p>\n

Aaron Pierre, 31, is considered a strong contender after voicing Mufasa in the recent Lion King remake<\/p>\n

| GETTY\"Callum<\/p>\n

Callum Turner has reportedly been telling his close circle that he has secured the part<\/p>\n

| PA<\/p>\n

No official meeting has yet been confirmed to cast the next Bond.<\/p>\n

Denis Villeneuve will direct the upcoming film<\/a>, while Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is writing the screenplay.<\/p>\n

Producer Barbara Broccoli previously said Craig’s successor “will be a man, will likely be in his 30s” and that “whiteness is not a given”.<\/p>\n

However, Broccoli and her half-brother Michael Wilson sold the franchise to Amazon last year in a deal reportedly worth north of \u00a3700million.<\/p>\n

The sale saw them give up creative control – though they remain co-owners of the Bond property.<\/p>\n

D’Abo is currently appearing in Spanish Oranges at The Playground Theatre in London.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A former Bond girl has declared that 007 must be a white man. Maryam d’Abo, who starred in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[921,93,1043,61,60,18747,270,40822],"class_list":{"0":"post-298837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-celebrity","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-film","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-james-bond","14":"tag-movies","15":"tag-sgg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}