Peaky Blinders star Barry Keoghan has poured cold water on speculation linking him to the coveted role of James Bond, stating he does not believe he “fits the criteria” for the iconic British spy.
Instead, the 33-year-old actor, whose star has risen rapidly, expressed a clear preference for portraying a villain. He told Radio Times: “I’d rather come in and do the villain. The man teasing Bond, that’s more me.” Keoghan elaborated that while it was “nice to see your name go up there,” the role of 007 inherently carries “a lot of weight and pressure.”
The Dublin-born talent, celebrated for compelling performances in critically acclaimed films such as Saltburn (2023) and The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022), is also set to appear in the forthcoming Peaky Blinders film, The Immortal Man.
Keoghan’s candid remarks arrive amid fervent speculation over who will ultimately succeed Daniel Craig as 007, following his final outing as the secret service agent in 2021’s No Time To Die. Other prominent actors frequently mentioned as potential candidates include Jacob Elordi, Cillian Murphy, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Callum Turner.
The next instalment in the long-running spy series is slated to be directed by Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, a four-time Academy Award nominee widely recognised for his work on Dune, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049, and Arrival.
Adding to the anticipation, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight was recently announced as the scriptwriter.
Speaking to the BBC last year, Knight said writing a Bond film “has always been on my bucket list.”
“It’s fantastic to be invited to do it – I can’t wait to get started,” he added. “I’m hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that’s the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.”
When asked about the identity of the next Bond, Knight responded: “That is a very, very good question, and one I can’t give you the answer to.”
These developments follow a major overhaul of the beloved British franchise, which saw long-time producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson transfer creative control to Amazon as part of a lucrative new deal.
