Aaron Taylor-Johnson has gotten support from a former James Bond actor after rumors the Bullet Train star got offered to be the next 007 agent.
George Lazenby, who portrayed Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, gave his seal of approval to Taylor-Johnson following reports he was in contention for the role.
According to a recent TMZ report, Lazenby said Taylor-Johnson would be able to “handle the stunts and all the ladies who love a man in a tux.”
Lazenby noted that he doesn’t think Taylor-Johnson has the role yet because “when he auditioned for the part back in the 1960s, he went through a bunch of different tests and auditions before he won the role.”
James Bond was most recently played by English actor Daniel Craig, who took over the role in 2006’s Casino Royale. Craig would continue portraying the spy in 2008’s Quantum of Solace, 2012’s Skyfall, 2015’s Spectre, and 2021’s No Time to Die.
Lazenby said he supported Taylor-Johnson in the role “as long as they do the character justice,” telling the actor “to be true to himself and reinvent the role to fit him.”
The role of James Bond originated in 1962 with Sean Connery in the film Dr. No. Conner would embody the character in four additional films after that, including From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), and You Only Live Twice (1967).
Lazenby succeeded Connery in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service before Connery returned to the James Bond universe in 1971 with Diamonds Are Forever.
Other actors that have had a turn as James Bond include Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan.