The casting search for the next actor to play James Bond is officially underway.
Amazon MGM Studios released the following statement Thursday:
“The search for the next James Bond is underway. While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
Variety reports that Nina Gold has been hired as the casting director for James Bond 26, which is said to be looking for a “fresh face” to play 007. Gold was among the nominees for this year’s first ever Academy Award in casting for her work on Hamnet.
Gold’s past work indicates an eye for discovering future stars; Emilia Clarke, Claire Foy, and Eddie Redmayne all got big career breaks thanks to Gold.
A British native, Gold was the casting director on UK-based series such as Game of Thrones, The Crown, Baby Reindeer, Slow Horses, The Day of the Jackal, Wolf Hall, and Taboo. She also cast series such as Rome, John Adams, Chernobyl, 3 Body Problem, and The Nevers.
On the film side, Gold has been the casting director for Hot Fuzz, Nowhere Boy, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Attack the Block, The King’s Speech, Prometheus, The Imitation Game, The Martian, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jurassic World: Dominion, Conclave, The Two Popes, Wonka, Les Misérables, The Power of the Dog, and Morbius to name a few.
In addition to Game of Thrones, it might be Gold’s work in the Star Wars franchise that makes her particularly notable for being tapped as the casting director on James Bond 25.
Gold discovered then-largely unknown actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She also cast Solo and Andor.
If there’s a “fresh face” male actor in the UK who is a good fit for the role of 007 then a casting director of Nina Gold’s experience would almost certainly have them on her radar.
Denis Villeneuve will direct Bond 26 from a screenplay by Steven Knight.
