Slow Horses star Jack Lowden finally addresses James Bond rumours
As any good spy would, Slow Horses star Jack Lowden is keeping his cards close to his chest, describing speculation that he is in the running to be the next James Bond as “flattering”.
The 36-year-old Scottish actor, who currently plays MI5 agent River Cartwright on Apple TV’s spy thriller Slow Horses, addressed the rumours in a new interview published by GQ in the UK overnight (AEDT). The interview took place in September just days after Gary Oldman, who stars alongside Lowden in Slow Horses, added fuel to the 007 rumour fire by endorsing his younger colleague.
“It’s been rumoured that [Lowden] is on the shortlist,” Oldman said in an interview with Canada’s The Morning Show on September 7 (Canadian time). “We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice but they have not announced it yet. So my fingers are crossed for Jack.”
Jack Lowden has already played a spy. He may as well do it again.A few days later on September 11, Oldman appeared to hose down his comments during a session at the Toronto International Film Festival, Deadline reported.
“There’s six people on a shortlist. I heard a rumour that they’ve picked James Bond, but they haven’t announced it yet, which is their prerogative,” Oldman said. “So I do not know [who has got the part], but I’m hoping it’s Jack.”
This is part and parcel of recent Bond casting speculation. People around the globe, including Oldman – who has never starred in a Bond film and is not otherwise explicitly involved in the franchise’s production – have been feverishly weighing in since the official casting process began in May. Until now, nothing has been confirmed by the filmmakers or its distributor Amazon MGM.
Asked about Oldman’s comments, Lowden neither confirmed nor denied anything, but said it was “all very flattering”.
“It’s nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I’m just not really going to add to the noise,” he told the outlet.
“It’s very nice, and Gary’s a sweetheart – it’s particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don’t really listen to it.
“As a young male actor, generally, the minute you’re not playing a zany artist type, the minute you’re in a suit, people fling it at you,” he said.
Lowden will next appear as Mr Darcy in the upcoming Netflix adaptation of Pride and Prejudice; however, his name has been in the James Bond mix for some years, alongside Callum Turner, Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Jack Barton and Australia’s Jacob Elordi – who have already reportedly auditioned for the coveted role.
Final auditions reportedly began in late October, with reports suggesting that three to five actors had reached the final hurdle. According to Deadline, some of the finalists included Lowden, Turner and Challengers star Josh O’Connor. The final auditions were said to consist of three stages: stunts, dialogue, and – as every 007 needs – camera presence.
Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden at the Emmy Awards in September.APOn Saturday (UK time), The Sun reported that Turner appeared to be firming up as the next 007, citing evidence that he had stepped away from the production company he founded with pop star wife Dua Lipa last year. And on Monday, The Daily Mail reported that Turner had attended Amazon MGM’s Bray Studios in the English county of Berkshire for screen tests last Friday. It also claimed that Lipa was keen to record the next Bond theme.
Though it is all still up in the air, it is largely believed that Elordi and other stars initially thought to have been in the running, like Jack O’Connell, are no longer testing. There is still no indication as to when the final decision will be announced. However, in August, one of the upcoming film’s producers Amy Pascal told Deadline the “end of the year is a good bet” for further news.
Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is helming the next Bond instalment, which will be distributed by Amazon MGM after it secured ownership of the franchise from the Broccoli family in February 2025.
The last Bond film was the final Daniel Craig outing No Time to Die in 2021.
If Lowden were to get the coveted role, casting for other characters in the next film could get interesting – in August, Lowden’s wife, Irish actor Saoirse Ronan told Empire magazine she was keen to play a Bond villain.
“I want to go dark,” she said. “I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious … I think it would be really interesting having a young female villain.
“Especially for girls and women, to see someone who can just take all that pent-up anger and direct it somewhere, there’s something interesting in that dramatically. So I would love to do more of that.”
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