Jack Lowden has addressed speculation that he is in the running to become the next James Bond, describing the rumours as “all very flattering” while declining to add to the growing discussion.
The Scottish actor was asked about the reports in an interview with GQ after his Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman appeared to suggest that a decision had already been made.
“It’s nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I’m just not really going to add to the noise,” Lowden said. “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.”
Lowden, 36, added: “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.”
Oldman, who plays Jackson Lamb alongside Lowden in Slow Horses, had said in an interview in September that Lowden was believed to be on the shortlist and that “they have made their choice but they have not announced it yet”.
He later appeared to qualify the remarks at the Toronto International Film Festival, saying there were six actors on the shortlist and that he had only heard a rumour that the next Bond had been chosen.
“So I do not know [who has got the part], but I’m hoping it’s Jack,” Oldman said.
Lowden is due to appear as Mr Darcy in Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. His name has been linked to the Bond role for several years, alongside Callum Turner, Harris Dickinson, Paul Mescal, Jack Barton and Jacob Elordi, who have reportedly auditioned.
James Bond casting speculation
Denis Villeneuve is directing the next Bond film, which will be distributed by Amazon MGM after the company secured ownership of the franchise from the Broccoli family in February 2025. The most recent film was 2021’s No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s final appearance as 007.
Recent reports have suggested that Turner could be emerging as a leading contender. The Sun reported that he appeared to have stepped away from the production company he founded with his wife, pop star Dua Lipa, while the Daily Mail said he had attended screen tests at Amazon MGM’s Bray Studios.
If Lowden were to secure the role, his wife, Irish actor Saoirse Ronan, has said she would be interested in playing a Bond villain. “I want to go dark,” she told Empire in August. “I said that I wanted to be a Bond villain and I’m dead serious.”
