{"id":899739,"date":"2026-10-30T09:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T09:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899739\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T09:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T09:20:20","slug":"james-bond-who-is-the-mystery-actor-competing-with-callum-turner-and-jack-lowden-to-play-007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/899739\/","title":{"rendered":"James Bond: Who is the mystery actor \u2018competing with Callum Turner and Jack Lowden\u2019 to play 007?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Reports have suggested that at least four actors are testing for the role of James Bond<\/a>, with screen tests being held last weekend to determine who will play one of the most coveted parts in cinema.<\/p>\n

But while reports in Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter named three of the actors allegedly testing \u2013 Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O\u2019Connor \u2013 the name of the fourth actor has not been confirmed.<\/p>\n

\"JackJack Lowden and Callum Turner are both rumoured to have screen tested already (Getty Images\/iStock)<\/p>\n

That has led to much speculation about who that mystery fourth man is. To try and get to the bottom of it, we\u2019ve gathered together a list of possible suspects<\/a> \u2013 as well as at least two major British names who\u2019ve already been ruled out.<\/p>\n

Believable suspects<\/p>\n

Jack O\u2019Connell<\/p>\n

\"JackJack O’Connell (Getty)<\/p>\n

While The Hollywood Reporter said that the Sinners star \u201cwas rumoured to initially be in the mix, but that is apparently not the case, according to sources\u201d, there has been some speculation online that all of these similar-sounding names floating around may have got everyone a bit confused. What if Josh O\u2019Connor actually isn\u2019t testing for Bond and Jack O\u2019Connell is? Particularly when O\u2019Connor hasn\u2019t been linked to 007 as much in the past as his apparent rivals, and because he\u2019s in the middle of starring in a London play right now \u2013 likely making in-person screen tests last weekend slightly tricky.<\/p>\n

Jack Barton<\/p>\n

\"JackJack Barton (Getty)<\/p>\n

Of all the many, many names mooted for Bond, this 31-year-old unknown has emerged as a sudden and sort of believable candidate for the role. In August, Page Six of The New York Post published a report on the imminent Bond screen tests and claimed that a host of actors were due to take part. They included the usual names \u2013 like Callum Turner \u2013 but also Jack Barton, who\u2019s appeared in Heartstopper and Poor Things. He also starred in the second series of BBC One\u2019s SAS: Rogue Heroes last year \u2013 a show written by none other than new Bond scribe Steven Knight. Hmm.<\/p>\n

Joe Alwyn<\/p>\n

\"JoeJoe Alwyn (Getty)<\/p>\n

Reddit sleuths have suggested the Hamnet and The Favourite star may be that mystery fourth actor, particularly due to his connections to the Bond casting director Nina Gold. \u201cShe \u2026 cast Joe in his first movie role,\u201d a post reads. \u201cShe knows him as far back as drama school.\u201d It\u2019s a not particularly compelling rumour, but if true, it\u2019d at least save us from a Bond theme by Alwyn\u2019s very famous ex Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n

Likely nos<\/p>\n

Jacob Elordi<\/p>\n

\"JacobJacob Elordi (Getty)<\/p>\n

While this doesn\u2019t by any means suggest the Frankenstein star isn\u2019t involved in the new Bond (for all we know, he could have been looked at to play a villain), the Hollywood Reporter claimed last week that Elordi is out of contention for the role. Or, as they put it, \u201cnot testing\u201d \u2013 could this be a bit of a bluff though? Time will tell.<\/p>\n

Harris Dickinson<\/p>\n

\"HarrisHarris Dickinson (Getty)<\/p>\n

As shared on Reddit<\/a> this week, the original Hollywood Reporter story that ruled out Elordi was reproduced in the site\u2019s newsletter to subscribers, but also mentioned that Babygirl star Harris Dickinson is no longer in the running for Bond. This corresponds to July claims on film journalist Jeff Sneider\u2019s Hot Mic podcast (via World of Reel<\/a>) that Dickinson had withdrawn his name from consideration, apparently citing exhaustion from shooting four Beatles movies \u2013 he\u2019s playing John Lennon \u2013 back to back. Sneider also characterised this as a bit of a blow for Bond\u2019s producers, with Dickinson previously considered a highly desirable candidate for the job.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Hoult<\/p>\n

\"NicholasNicholas Hoult (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n

Also mentioned in that same Hollywood Reporter newsletter was Superman and X-Men star Nicholas Hoult, who on paper probably would have made a great Bond. But alas, the site has claimed he is not in the running.<\/p>\n

The new Bond film, to be directed by Dune\u2019s Denis Villeneuve, follows Daniel Craig\u2019s final outing as Bond<\/a> in No Time To Die, which was released in October 2021 after being delayed by the pandemic.<\/p>\n

With speculation rife over who would be stepping into 007\u2019s shoes, Amazon<\/a> made a controversial purchase of the franchise\u2019s long-time backers at MGM Studios in January 2025, taking control of the much-loved series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[33178,261510,124945,236,293,9333,88,50241,144158,68845,308,377025,377026,247034,20973,20975,3590,688,3383,223462,2761],"class_list":["post-899739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-arts-culture-and-entertainment","tag-attending","tag-bfi-london-film-festival","tag-celebrities","tag-color-image","tag-england","tag-entertainment","tag-film-industry","tag-gala","tag-headshot","tag-horizontal","tag-ink-film","tag-jack-oconnell-actor","tag-london-england","tag-looking-at-camera","tag-one-person","tag-people","tag-photography","tag-portrait","tag-royal-festival-hall","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}