The star of One Day and The White Lotus is among the favourites to play James Bond in the next Eon film
A new star is in contention to play the next James Bond, taking over from Daniel Craig in the upcoming 26th Eon film, and the actor could be the youngest ever to take on the role.
The bookies’ odds for the next 007 have been shifting continually since Craig confirmed No Time To Die would be his last outing, with Henry Cavill, Idris Elba, and Tom Hardy each being the firm favourite at various points in time.
The newest name to join the list of favourites to play Bond comes off the back of a leading role in a major Netflix series which has been watched by more than 15 million viewers this month.
Who is the new James Bond contender?
The newest actor to join the list of favourites to play the next James Bond is 27 year old English actor Leo Woodall. If the actor were to bag the part he could become the youngest ever on-screen Bond, as the current title holder is George Lazenby, who was 29 when he played the spy in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, his only appearance as the character.
Woodall has a string of acting credits to his name, having made his TV debut in Holby City in 2019. He starred alongside Tom Holland in drama film Cherry in 2021, before playing Adrian Ivashkov in fantasy series Vampire Academy.
Woodall’s breakout role was as Jack in the second series of comedy drama The White Lotus, and he later appeared in a smaller role in Amazon Prime thriller Citadel.
Most recently, he secured his first leading role, playing Dexter in romantic comedy drama series One Day, released this month.
His upcoming roles include lead parts in adventure romance Nomad, war drama Nuremberg, and drama series Prime Target.
It is likely his role in One Day that boosted Woodall into convention for Bond, although he is far from the bookies’ favourite to take on the part. William Hill has given Woodall odds of 16/1 (5.8%), which makes him joint 16th favourite alongside Kingsley Ben-Adir and Idris Elba.
Who are the favourites to play James Bond?
The number one bookies’ favourite for the role has been unchanged for months now, with Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson remaining in first place with odds of 13/8.
He is followed by Henry Cavill (5/2), Damson Idris (7/2) Tom Hardy and James Norton (5/1), Rege-Jean Page (11/2) Dev Patel and Paul Mescal (7/1), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Harris Dickinson (8/1) Cillian Murphy (10/1), and Paapa Essiedu, Richard Madden, Callum Turner and Jack Lowden (14/1).
